Necrotizing myofasciitis: an atypical cause of "acute abdomen" in an immunocompromised child

Abstract

We report the case of an immunocompromised 15-year-old boy who presented with symptoms mimicking an “acute abdomen” related to necrotizing myofasciitis of the anterior abdominal wall. CT demonstrated the abdominal wall process as the cause of the patient's symptoms and sonographically guided aspiration confirmed the diagnosis. Despite prompt diagnosis and aggressive surgical debridement, the infection continued to progress and the patient died within 24 h of presentation.