[1] Symptoms may include:[1] Common risk factors include, but are not limited to, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, smoking, major trauma, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, frostbite, influenza, dengue fever, malaria, chickenpox, plague, hypernatremia, radiation injuries, meningococcal disease, Group B streptococcal infection and Raynaud's syndrome.

[6] Main classifications:[7] Treatment may involve surgery to remove the dead tissue, antibiotics to treat any infection, and efforts to address the underlying cause.

[5] Efforts to treat the underlying cause may include operative procedures such as bypass surgery or endovascular interventions such as stenting or angioplasty.

[2] The etymology of gangrene derives from the Latin word gangraena and from the Greek gangraina (γάγγραινα), which means "putrefaction of tissues".

If ischemia is detected early, when ischemic wounds rather than gangrene are present, the process can be treated by revascularization (via vascular bypass or angioplasty).

[29] For patients experiencing claudication, exercise training programs that progressively increase in intensity are encouraged to promote blood flow to the lower extremities.

[29] Additional measures to prevent ischemic gangrene, particularly in cases of critical limb ischemia, include proper foot care—such as wearing well-fitting, protective shoes—and avoiding tight clothing that can restrict blood flow.

[29] For diabetic patients, adherence to their treatment plan is crucial, which includes consistent use of medication, a balanced diet to manage blood sugar levels, and daily foot inspections to monitor for wounds.

Prevention and management of ischemic gangrene also includes maintaining normal blood pressure through use of anti-hypertensive medications such as beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.

[29] Pentoxifylline is a medication that is described to improve blood flow and tissue oxygenation, although its efficacy is unknown it has shown to boost excercise duration.

[30] Antibiotic treatment of gas gangrene, except for C. tertium infections which is treated with vancomycin or metronidazole intravenously, is typically penicillin and clindamycin for about two weeks.

Surgical inspection, blood cultures (to rule out bacteremia) and gram-staining for histopathologic examination is indicated of any patients suspected to have gas gangrene regardless of cause.

[32] Dead tissue alone does not require debridement, and in some cases, such as dry gangrene, the affected part falls off (autoamputates), making surgical removal unnecessary.

In the case of gangrene due to critical limb ischemia, revascularization can be performed to treat the underlying peripheral underlateral artery disease.

[29] To prevent complications of gangrene from critical limb ischemia, revascularization procedures can be utilized for severely symptomatic patients that are refractory to medications.

[34] Hyperbaric oxygen as a monotherapy is controversial in its lack of efficacy, surgery and antibiotic administrations remains to be the mainstay of treatment for gas gangrene.

[citation needed] The prognosis of such a rapidly progressive disease requires timely diagnosis with prompt surgical debridement and administration of antibiotics.

Gas gangrene that involves trunk or visceral organs compared to the extremities are typically harder to treat due to its locations making debridement difficult.

In recent times, however, maggot therapy has regained some credibility and is sometimes employed with great efficacy in cases of chronic tissue necrosis.

[36][37][38] The French Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully contracted gangrene in January 1687 when, while conducting a performance of his Te Deum, he stabbed his own toe with his pointed staff (which was used as a baton).

[40] Sebald Justinus Brugmans, Professor at Leyden University, from 1795 on Director of the Medical Bureau of the Batavian Republic, and inspector-general of the French Imperial Military Health-Service in 1811, became a leading expert in the fight against hospital-gangrene and its prevention.

[41][42] John M. Trombold wrote: "Middleton Goldsmith, a surgeon in the Union Army during the American Civil War, meticulously studied hospital gangrene and developed a revolutionary treatment regimen.

"[43] Goldsmith advocated the use of debridement and topical and injected bromide solutions on infected wounds to reduce the incidence and virulence of "poisoned miasma".