Skin infections Flashcards

1
Q

What is folliculitis? What is it mostly caused by? Tx?

A
  • Folliculitis
    • inflammation/infection of the hair follicle
    • Mostly caused by staph>strep
    • Erythematous pustule involving the hair follicle
    • Treat with warm compress - avoid systemic abx.
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2
Q

What are furnuncles? What usually causes them? Treatment?

A
  • Furnuncles are boils
  • Usually involve entire hair follicle and surrounding soft tissue
  • Single abscess
  • Staph aureus is the usual organism
  • Treat with I&D and warm compress
  • Abx
    • Keflex (cephalexin) - non MRSA
    • Doxycylcine - good MRSA coverage
    • tetracycline
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3
Q

What are carbuncles? What usually causes them? Tx?

A
  • Carbuncles are a coalesence of furnuncles
  • Multiple drainage points
  • mainly casued by staph aureus
  • Tx: I&D and systemic abx
    • Cefalexin (1st gen cephalosporin) and trimethoprim/sulfamethaoxazole (Batrim) (Sulfas, cover gram - and MRSA coverage)
    • Follow up 1-3 days and then weekly.
  • Pus under pressure!
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4
Q

What is erysipelas? what usually causes it? Most common portal of entry? Treatment?

A
  • Infection of the dermis
  • Usually caused by B-hemolytic strep
  • Erythema clasically shiny, well demarcated
  • Fever, chills common
  • Facial cheek is common site of infection
  • Treatment
    • Vancomycin 15mg/kg
    • follow up? –> going to be admitted into the hospital.
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5
Q

What is cellulitis? What is it usually caused by? Most common portal of entry? How do you treat it?

A
  • Cellulitis is a diffuse spreading infection of the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous (connective tissue)
  • Usually present on the lower leg
  • Most commonly due to gram positive cocci - staph and strep
  • Most common portal of entry - Toe fissures or tinea pedis
    • Can be very seious in diabetic patients
      • can turn pre-septic and septic quickly
  • Can affect all layers of the skin
    • Generally starts as small patch of eythema with spread over hours
  • Symptoms
    • swelling, pain, erythema
    • septic appearence
      • fever, not feeling well.
  • treatment?
    • Good empiric choices for outpatient
      • Keflex (cephalexin) 1st generation cephalosporin. Non MRSA
        • or ceftaroline (Teflaro) for MRSA
      • Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (bactrim) Sulfa- MRSA coverage
      • Penicillins
      • B-lactam inhibitors (Augmentin Amox/Clav, Zosyn Piper/tazo, Unasyn amp/sulbactam)
      • Tetracyclines - Doxycycline (MRSA)
      • Vancomycin (MRSA) - glycopeptide
      • Azithromycin (Macrolide) - Sanford
      • outpatient follow up in 1-2 days - want quickly as possible because of posibility of going septic
    • Patient is hospitalized?
      • Pt hospitalized when becomes febrile
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6
Q

What are necrotizing skin and soft tissue infections? What is first line treatment?

A
  • Necrotizing fasciitis
  • Fournier’s gangrene - gangrene of the genetalia
  • Gas gangrene
  • Surgical emergenceis - treatment for all of the above is SURGERY FIRST THEN ABX
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7
Q

Necrotizing fasciitis, def, how do you diagnose? What layer of tissue does it spare? Treatment?

A
  • Definition
    • Very rapid progression of an infection that progresses minutes to hours.
    • Quickly and progressively destroys subcutaneous fascia
      • “flesh eating”
      • Bullae, and crepitus of the skin from gas under skin
        • SPARES MUSCLE - can help you ddx between gas gangrene.
  • Cause
    • Usually group A strep (Mprotein) but can be staph aureus)
  • tx?
    • SURGERY FIRST AND THEN ABX
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8
Q

Fournier’s Gangrene, def, cause, treatment?

A
  • Definition
    • another necrotizing skin infection.
    • Rapidly progressing cellulits/gangrene of the penis and scrotum - can happen in women too
    • diabetes, alcohol useage, HIV, obesity, and malginancy predispose people to the infection
  • s/s
    • Insidious onset with itching and discomfort near portal of entry - perianal.
    • pain out of proportion to appearnce at first
    • Worsening - pain subsides due to necrosis of nerve tissue during progression
  • cause
    • Usually polymicrobial with high likelihood of anaerobic organisms
  • tx
    • surgical and then broad spectrum abx until cultures are back
      • vancomycin (glycopeptide), piperacillin/tazo (Beta-lactam inhibitor, Zosyn), metronidazole (Nitroimidazole, flagyl)
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9
Q

Gas gangrene, def, cause, treatment?

A

Def

  • Also known as clostridial myonecrosis
  • Progressively destroys subcutanoeus fascia, fat and muscle

s/s

  • often acute presentation with severe pain-sometimes painless due to nerve damage- crepitus

cause

  • Usually caused by clostridium perfringens
  • Often from traumatic wounds/perforation of bowel
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10
Q

Staph Aureus pathogenicity, bacterial surface components and extracellular proteins.

A
  • Bacterial surface components
    • capsular polysaccharide
    • protein A
    • clumping factor
    • fibronectin binding protein
  • Extracellular proteins
    • coagulase
    • hemolysins
    • enterotoxins
    • toxic -shock syndrome toxin
    • exfloiatins
    • Pranton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)
      • Unique to MRSA, allows it to penetrate intact skin.
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11
Q

Staph Aureus Resistance mechanisms

A
  • By definition - harbors mecA gene for methicillin resistance
  • mecA gene codes for a different type of penicillin -binding protein
  • This PBP allows continual synthesis of cell wall in presence of B-lactam antibiotics
    • Only 5th gen cefalosporins have ability to kill MRSA in cefalosporin family.
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12
Q

Traditional risk factors for MRSA

A
  • Previous hospital stay
  • Prolonged length of stay prior to infection
  • surgical procedures (2-3 months)
  • Enteral feeding
  • Prior antibiotic use
    • 3rd generation cephalosporins
    • fluroquinolones
    • vancomycin
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13
Q

Clincal concerns with CA-MRSA. Populations with CA-MRSA

A
  • They cause syndromes not typically associated with S.aureus
    • Necrotizing fasciiits
    • purpura fulminans
    • necrotizing pneumonia
    • larger community outbreaks - especially in specific populations.
  • Populations
    • children, jail, military, native americans and native alaskans, homeless populations, football teams, wrestlers, gymnats, fencing teams, MSM, HIV patients, Injectio ndrug users
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14
Q

What syndromes are most CA-MRSA infections associated with?

A
  • Skin and soft tissue 77%
  • wound (traumatic) - 10%
  • urinary tract infection - 4%
  • sinusitis - 4%
  • bacteremia 3%
  • pneumonia 2%
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15
Q

What is an unfortunate mistake in treatment that people used to treat pediatrics that had MRSA?

A

All treated with cephalosporin which the organism was resistant to. this delayed the use of the correct antibitoic and may have contributed to their deaths.

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16
Q

What are some of the impacts that bacterial resistance is causing in society?

A
  • Lack of coverage–> increase in complicatoins and length of stay in hospitals
  • increased morbidity and mortality
  • requires more complicated treatment regimens
  • leads to earlier use of previously reserved agents (vancomycin) –> increase resistance VISA, VRSA. Rare but very difficult to treat
  • Contributes to treatment failure –> more medical visits, –> greater use of abx.
17
Q

MRSA vs spider bite

A
  • Spider bites are more necrotic, can usually see a puncture bite
  • MRSA has a lot more erythema, involvement of a larger area of skin
18
Q

Traditional treatment options for MRSA?

A
  • IV vancomycin (glycopeptide)
  • Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Sulfa, Bactrim)
  • Tetracycline - doxycycline covers MRSA
  • Clindamycin - not used as much anymore, things becoming clindamycin resistant, not as sensitive.
19
Q

What test do you use to test clindamycin resistance?

A
  • Some strains are clindamycin resistant despite standard in-vitro testing showing susceptibility
  • Some strains are carrying the erm gene (erythromycin resistance), and can be induced to become clindamycine resistant when exposed to clindamycin
  • THE d test - checks for clindamycin -susceptible,
    • Erythromycin-resistant organisms to determine inducible clindamycin resistance
    • If D test is positive - means clindamycin won’t work
    • Get a D-Shape around the antibiotic marker. Means its showing some resistance to erythromycin which means clindamycin would not work.
20
Q

What are the newer treatment options for MRSA?

A
  • linezolid (Zyvox) IV OR PO an oxazolidinones. (Non Beta lactam)
  • Tedizolid (sivextro) IV OR PO an oxazolidinones. (Non beta lactam)
  • Daptomycin (cubicin) IV. A lipopeptide (Non beta lactam)
  • tygecycline (Tygacil) IV. A glycylcycline. (non beta lactam)
  • Ceftaroline (teflaro) IV. 5th gen cefalosporin (Beta lactam)
  • Oritavancin (Orbactiv) IV. Lipoglycopeptide (non beta lactam) 1 dose lasts 2 weeks.
  • Dalbavancin (Dalvance) IV. Lipoglycopeptide (NBL) (one dose lasts 2 weeks)
21
Q

What is MRSA colonizatoin associated with? what are the guidelines for eradicating it?

A
  • Recent nasal aquisition of CA-MRSA associated with 10-fold increae in risk of devleoping skin and soft tissue infections
  • occasionally try to eradicate MRSA in nose b/c of this reason.

guidelines

  • do not routinely attempt to decolonize all pts with MRSA colonizatoin, just those likely to benefit clinically
  • topical intranasal mupirocin for 5 days (not more)
  • Daily bathing with antibacterial agent
  • Oral or IV antibiotics - not routine, but not more than 10 days in selected patients
  • Only HCW suspected to transmit MRSA should be screened and treated for carriage of MRSA
    • usually in high risk areas .
22
Q

What are diabetic foot wounds most likely caused by?

A

Most likely caused by a polymicrobial infection, anaerobes are highly likely. Can become necrotic and if it does they are likely to lose their lower leg.

23
Q

What is hot tub folliculitis caused by? Treatment?

A

Caused by psuedomonas, get an itchy rash after hot tub use

Outpatient treatment usually consists of antipruretics (anti itch), and a steroid cream.

If it gets worse then you can use ciprofloxin, a fluroquinolone. But try to avoid.

24
Q

Dog bite common pathogens and treament?

A
  • First have to think if the dog had a rabies vaccine, tetanus status and most common pathogen is pasturella.
    • pasturella is carried by both dogs and cats
  • First want to irrigate, then most likely prescribe antibiotics
    • Augmentin orally, IV equiv -ampicillin sulbactam (unasyn) Beta lactam inhibitors.
    • Alternative: clindamycin & fluroquinolones
25
Q

Dog and Cat bites, most common pathogen? What is cat scratch fever.

A
  • Both dogs and cats carry pasturella multocida
    • Treat with augmentin, amoxicillin/clav

Cat scratch fever.

  • Caused by bartonella
    • treatment is doxycycline
26
Q

Mice and rat bites cause rat bite fever. What are common pathogens that cause this?

A
  • Streptobacillus causes rat bite fever -
    • treat with augmentin
    • alt- doxy
      *
27
Q

What most common pathogen are you worried about with human bites? tx?

A
  • Eikenella corrodens is the most common pathogen
    • treat with augmentin
28
Q

Yeast cellulitis treatment and management?

A
  • can occur anywhere where skin touches skin
  • well defined border, sometimes itchy, and somewhat burn
  • tx
    • fluconazole - orally if more invovled.
    • topically - nystatin - comes in a powder - 1st line
    • can use ketoconazole but want to keep area dry.
29
Q

What skin infection does measles cause? What are the three C’s of measles.

A
  • Measles is a paramyxoviridae family of viruses
  • Humans are the only natural hosts
  • Symptoms
    • prodrome of fever, 3 C’s cough, coryza (runny nose), conjunctivitis, malaise
    • Koplik spots - pathopneumonic - bluish spots in the mouth
    • maculopapular rash - body wide rash.
30
Q

What are some complications that go with measles? who is at high risk? contagious factor, and vaccines

A
  • Common complications from measles include
    • otitis media
    • bronchopneumoniaa,
    • laryngothrachebronchitis,
    • diarrhea
  • Serious illness
    • One out of every 1000 measles cases will develop encephalitis which often results in permanent brain damage
    • one or two out of every 1000 children who become infected with measles will die frrom respiraotyr and neurologic complications
  • Subacute scleoriss parencephalaitis (SSPE) is rare but fatal degenerative disease of the CNS that is characterized by behavioral and intellectual deterioration and seizures that generally develop 7 to 10 years after measles infection.

High risk

  • infants and children less than 5
  • adults aged more than 20
    • some not immunized, some only got 1 immunization.
  • pregnant women
    • can pass to fetus, cause death, hearign loss or other congenital defects
  • peole with compromised immune systems such as leukemia and HIV infection.

spreadability

  • one of the most contagious of respiratory spead infections
  • 9 in 10 people who do not have immunity will become infected if exposed.

Vaccine preventable

  • first dose at age 12-15 months
  • second dose at age 4-6 years or at least 28 days following first dose
  • adolescents 2 doses 28 days apart
  • adults born after 1857 2 doses 28 days apart or proof of immuinity
  • currently considered 3rd dose.
  • This is a live virus vaccine.
31
Q

Herpes Zoster definition. Pattern? diagnosis? treatment?

A
  • Latent varicella zoster virus
  • s/s
    • Get a prodrome - burning and tingling at site of eruption
    • Vesicular dermatomal lesions –> follows the nerves
    • Does not cross midline unless it disseminates – only if someone is immunosupressed.
    • Painful
    • can also get on the face called herpes zoster ophthalmacus. Can be associated with a stroke.
  • dx
    • No accurate lab test, only a clinical diagnosis
  • tx
    • Antivirals started within 1st 72 hours of onset of vesciles/prodrome
    • acyclovir, famcyclovir, valacyclovir are options
    • vaccine preventable
      • shringrex killed preparation 2 shot series starting at age 50
      • zostavax- live virus - not used as much any more.