In 2001, 13 percent of the center's patients - about 45 people - were nonburn patients, said Amalia Cochran, an assistant professor of surgery and adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics.
By 2007, that number had climbed to 30 percent, or 120 people. Nearly half of those nonburn patients, both in 2001 and 2007, were treated for such infections, called necrotizing fasciitis, Cochran said.
Whether that's because more patients are being referred to the center or because the number of infections is increasing is unclear, said Cochran, who on Tuesday was treating two infected patients. On Feb. 24, a 61-year-old South Ogden woman, Carol Caudill, died at the center from necrotizing fasciitis.
The infection kills skin and soft tissue down to muscle, Cochran said.
It can be caused by different kinds of bacteria, acting alone or in concert, she said. The aggressive infection prompts small blood vessels to close, choking off blood flow to the surrounding tissue. A combination of antibiotics and surgery are usually used to halt its spread.
Of soft tissue infections, "necrotizing fasciitis is one of the most serious and tends to make people the sickest," she said.
Caudill's illness was caused by group A Strep bacteria. Her husband, Robert Caudill, declined to be interviewed.
Caudill's case is only the second to be reported by the Weber-Morgan Health Department since August 2007, said spokeswoman Lori Buttars. Statewide, only nine cases were reported last year, the year the Utah Department of Health instituted surveillance for it, said epidemiologist Susan Mottice.
"We do believe it's underreported," Buttars said.
Whether patients succumb to necrotizing fasciitis depends on how early and how aggressively they are treated, Cochran said. Diagnosing the infection is often difficult, with many patients initially having flulike symptoms.
Determining how a patient became infected also can be difficult. For some, it can begin with something as simple as a cut on a finger. Most patients "don't necessarily remember significant trauma that could have served as the point of entry for the bacteria," Cochran said.
Between 1992 and 2005, 17 percent of Utah patients with necrotizing fasciitis in their groin area died from the infection, Cochran said. Mortality data for patients overall wasn't immediately available.
While people who are obese or diabetic seem to be at higher risk for such infections, "generally, it's a consequence of bad luck," Cochran said.
