Antimicrobial treatment decision for non-purulent skin and soft tissue infections in the emergency department

What is it about?

Non-purulent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs: cellulitis & erysipelas) are important and common reasons for patients to visit the Emergency Department. We surveyed Canadian Emergency Physicians to determine how non-purulent skin and SSTIs are managed and which risk factors were felt to be important in predicting treatment failure with oral antibiotics.

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Why is it important?

Our survey results indicate that there is a lack of consensus concerning important management decisions for SSTIs. Furthermore, the respondents endorsed several risk factors felt to predict failure with oral antibiotic therapy, which merits further research to improve physician approach to this common clinical presentation.