Skin and Soft tissue infections Flashcards
Cellulitis definition
Inflammation of th subcutaenous connective tissue. Bacteria breach the skin barrier and infect and spread throughout the deeper dermis and fat (does not involve fascia/muscle
Clinical features of cellulitis
- classical signs of inflammation (swelling, redness, heat and tenderness)
- lower extremities
Who is cellulitis most common in?
middle age and elderly
Common organisms that cause cellulitis
not purluent
- B haemolytic streptococci (A,C,G)
- Group B haemolytic streptococci: infants/adults with comorbidities
purlulent cellulitis
- is staphylococcus aureus
facial ceullitis in children:
- streptococcus pneumoniae/haemophillus influenzae
Celullitis predisposing risk factors
- Portal of entry
- Laceration / insect bite / athlete’s foot•
- Severe disease
- Elderly / diabetes
- Recurrent episodes
- Tinea pedis, lymphoedema, venous insufficiency, pressure ulcers, and obesity•Intravenous drug use / “skin-popping”
- S. aureus most common cause / polymicrobial
epidemiology of cellulitis
-
Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most frequent pathogens of humans
- Carriage 5-15%, usually in the respiratory tract and vaginal tract
- Staphylococcus aureus carried by 30-40% of healthy people
- Normally nose, moist areas of skin
- MRSA prevalence approx 2%
- Immunocompromised
- Wider range organisms: Gram negative rods / anaerobes / fungi
- Mycobacterial infection
- Biopsy: granulomas / mycobacterial culture
- Children
- Facial cellulitis: H.influenzae / S.pneumoniae
Management of cellulitis
- Are they septic? - SIRS criteria
- anatomical site - Oribital> (medical and surgical emergency)
- Hospital acquired infection
- Comoribidity
- IV vs Oral hospital vs home
- HDU/ICU surgery/clindamycin
- MRSA Rx
Who would you admitt to hospital?
- Sepsis syndrome (any 2 of heart rate >100; respiratory rate >20/minute; temperature >38 ̊C or <36 ̊C; white cell count >12 or <4/mm3)
- Systolic Blood Pressure <100mmHg
- Severe, localised pain
- Rapidly evolving skin lesions or skin blistering
- Confusion
Treatment of celluitis
-
Strep pyogenes - non purulent
- Always sensitive to penicillin
- amoxcillin - better absorbed
- flucloxacillin
-
Staph aureus
- Flucloaxillin
- MRSA = vancomycin
- Penicillin allergy
- doxycyline
- clindamycin - c diff
-
Animal bites- polymicrobial
- broad cover - co-amoxiclav, augmentin
-
fresh water exposure
- penicillin/ciprofloxicin
Differential diagnosis of cellulitis
- Status dermatiis - bilateral with no pain (vellulitis, unilateral with pain)
- Arthris- pain on movment of joint
- drug reactions - usually associated with itch
- Nec fasc
- DVT - rule out with doppler
Management of cellulitis
- mark area of inflammation to monitor progress
- if no progrress, consider
- inadequate ABx
- admission to hospital
- underlying confition
- incorrect diagnsosis
Erysipelas
- Involves the upper dermis and superficial lymphatics
- Raised lesions with clear line of demarcation
- Classically butterfly involvement of the face but now accounts for only about 20% of cases. The legs are affected in up to 80% of cases.
- This is a clinical diagnosis. Erysipelas is diagnosed based on how the skin looks
- Infants, young children and older adults
- Usually group A strep, rarely: B, C, G and Staph aureus
- Elevated ASO titre 10 days
- Recurrence in 30% over 3 years
Erysipalas involves the ear and cellulitis does not
Impetigo definition
Contagious superficial infection that occurs in two forms:
- Bullous - s.aureus
- non bullous - S. aureus, streptococci or both
Clinical features of impetigo
Lesions mau occur anywhere on the body
- non bullous - initial lesion is a small pustule that ruptures to leabe ann extending area of exidatoon and crusting. Crust eventually separate to leabe areas of erythema which fade without scarring
- Bullous form - large superficial blisters. These rupture and there is exudation and crusting, and teh ctratum corneum peels back at the edges
Honey coloured crust
Affects primarily children or sports persons
Management of impetigo
- remove crust gently
- fluxcloaxcillin
- consider if secondary infection of exsisting skin lesions