Antibiotics for Cellulitis and Abscess: Review of a National Database

Evidence-based guidelines recommend that most abscesses can be treated with incision and drainage alone, without antibiotics, and that most patients with cellulitis require antibiotics targeting only streptococci. Researchers used a national database of emergency department (ED) visits to describe antibiotic use for nearly 140,000 patients with a final diagnosis of cellulitis from 2007 to 2010. Antibiotics with activity against community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) included trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, tetracyclines, rifampin, linezolid, and vancomycin.

During the study period, 3.2% of all ED visits were for skin infections and 2.7% were initial visits. Of the initial visits 22% were for ab…