Treating Children’s Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections

Specifically aiming empirical antibiotic treatment at MRSA may not be beneficial.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). Consequently, physicians often alter empirical antibiotic treatment for SSTIs, abandoning β-lactam antibiotics for agents that are more reliably active against MRSA. Does this practice result in fewer treatment failures?

To find out, investigators performed a retrospective case-control study at five pediatric primary care centers in a region where community-acquired MRSA accounts for >50% of SSTIs. They identified patients aged ≤21 years who presented with SSTIs between January 2004 and March 2007, comparing those whose treatment failed with those who were treated successfully and focusing on the empirical antibiotic p…

Reviewing Author

Robert S. Baltimore, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsInfectious Diseases in Children

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesMember Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis and Kawasaki Disease

Robert S. Baltimore, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsInfectious Diseases in Children

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesMember Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis and Kawasaki Disease

Treating Children’s Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections

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Reviewing Author