Table 1 Baseline study characteristics of necrotizing soft tissue infection studies assessing surgical timing
Eligible studies (n = 109) | Studies in meta-analyses (n = 33) | |
|---|---|---|
Publication year, n (%) | ||
1989 and older | 8 (7) | 3 (9) |
1990–1999 | 7 (6) | 4 (12) |
2000–2009 | 29 (27) | 7 (21) |
2010–2019 | 65 (60) | 19 (58) |
Continent where study was performeda, n (%) | ||
Africa | 8 (7) | 0 (0) |
Asia | 42 (39) | 14 (43) |
Europe | 23 (21) | 7 (21) |
North America | 32 (30) | 12 (36) |
Oceania | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
South America | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
Type of studyb, n (%) | ||
Retrospective cohort study | 89 (90) | 27 (93) |
Prospective cohort study | 9 (9) | 2 (7) |
Randomized controlled trial | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Study period in years, median (IQR; range) | 7 (5–11; 2–24) | 6 (5–11; 2–16) |
Number of participating medical institutionsa, median (IQR; range) | 1 (1–1; 1–6) | 1 (1–1; 1–2) |
Number of included patients per study, median (IQR; range) | 35 (20–67; 5–472) | 33 (20–84; 9–472) |
Body regions affected by NSTI assed per study, n (%) | ||
Head and/or neck | 9 (8) | 1 (3) |
Extremities | 8 (8) | 3 (9) |
Trunk | 2 (2) | 1 (3) |
Fournier | 32 (29) | 4 (12) |
Full body | 58 (53) | 24 (73) |