More Publications by © Chronicle Companies

n+p.PNG
Advertise with Derm.city
Chronicle Companies
Terms of Use Policy
Order "To Heal the Skin"

© Chronicle Companies 2018

Powered by Skin Chronicle International

  • Twitter - Black Circle
  • Facebook - Black Circle
  • YouTube - Black Circle
  • Home

  • Skin Chronicle

  • Primers for your Patient

  • Skin Spectrum Summit

  • Chronicle

  • Contact

  • More...

    General

    Antibiotics warranted in pediatric staph infections

    October 2, 2017

    |

    by John Evans, Associate Editor

    For uncomplicated pediatric staph infections, antibiotics are warranted for use in conjunction with lancing and draining affected areas because they reduce the risk of recurrent infections, researchers say.

     

    In a press release on Sept. 26 from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the senior author on the paper, Dr. Stephanie A. Fritz, said: “There have been conflicting data about the benefit to antibiotics in minor staph infections.

     

    “It is definitely important to surgically remove pus from the infection site, but also giving antibiotics means that the child will be less likely to see a doctor again in several months for another staph infection.”

     

    Dr. Fritz is a Washington University associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases.

     

    In the study, published online ahead of print in Clinical Infectious Diseases (Aug. 24, 2017), 383 children (median age of three years) who had Staphylococcus aureus (staph) infections which required incision and drainage were evaluated. The patients also had colonization of staph in their nostrils or on their skin. Most of the children (355, 93%) received antibiotic treatment in combination with incision and drainage.

     

    The children were monitored several times a year for bacterial colonization and re-infection.

     

    One month after the initial infection, bacterial swabs showed that approximately half of the 355 children (178) who had been treated with antibiotics no longer had staph colonization on their skin or nostrils. This compared to staph colonization remaining on approximately three-quarters of the children who had not received antibiotics (26).

     

    As well, those children who remained colonized one month after their initial infection were approximately twice as likely to experience a recurrent infection, with 60% (101) of children with remaining colonization experiencing recurrence vs. 30% (54) of children without remaining colonization.

     

    These findings suggest that, contrary to perception, routine use of antibiotics for uncomplicated staph infections may reduce the development of antibiotic resistance, said the paper’s lead author, Patrick Hogan, MPH, a clinical research fellow in the university’s School of Medicine.

     

    “Using antibiotics judiciously to treat staph infections eliminates staph colonization and prevents more infection from occurring in the future,” Hogan said. “This reduces the overall burden of the staph germ on the environment and people, which results in less recurrence and, therefore, less antibiotic use.”

     

    The study primarily evaluated the antibiotics clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). Of those two, clindamycin was the most effective at eliminating the staph colonization and preventing recurrent infection. Why clindamycin was superior to other antibiotics in this study is unknown and should be studied further, Hogan said.

    Tags:

    Staphylococcus aureus

    antibiotic resistance

    Pediatric

    Dr. Stephanie A. Fritz

    Washington University

    Patrick Hogan

    Please reload

    Featured Posts

    Epigenome a potential target for psoriasis Tx

    December 13, 2019

    New guidelines for rare and dangerous skin tumor

    December 11, 2019

    Reconsider gifting at-home beauty devices this holiday season

    December 9, 2019

    High-dose brachytherapy for BCC, SCC in older patients

    December 6, 2019

    Study: Makeup Products May Harbor Dangerous Bacteria

    December 4, 2019

    Newborn's immune system detects harmful skin bacteria

    December 2, 2019

    Topical rapamycin may slow skin aging

    November 29, 2019

    Statin medications may leave patients vulnerable to skin infections

    November 27, 2019

    Genes show how much sun exposure could lead to melanoma

    November 25, 2019

    Atopic eczema increases fracture risk

    November 22, 2019

    Please reload

    Archive

    December 2019 (6)

    November 2019 (11)

    October 2019 (11)

    September 2019 (13)

    August 2019 (13)

    July 2019 (12)

    June 2019 (11)

    May 2019 (17)

    April 2019 (15)

    March 2019 (13)

    February 2019 (11)

    January 2019 (13)

    December 2018 (12)

    November 2018 (13)

    October 2018 (14)

    September 2018 (9)

    August 2018 (9)

    July 2018 (9)

    June 2018 (13)

    May 2018 (11)

    April 2018 (13)

    March 2018 (13)

    February 2018 (14)

    January 2018 (12)

    December 2017 (6)

    November 2017 (11)

    October 2017 (5)

    September 2017 (4)

    August 2017 (6)

    July 2017 (10)

    June 2017 (12)

    May 2017 (17)

    April 2017 (12)

    March 2017 (19)

    February 2017 (11)

    January 2017 (13)

    December 2016 (11)

    November 2016 (13)

    October 2016 (16)

    September 2016 (16)

    August 2016 (14)

    July 2016 (16)

    June 2016 (16)

    May 2016 (22)

    April 2016 (17)

    March 2016 (15)

    February 2016 (12)

    January 2016 (11)

    December 2015 (13)

    November 2015 (19)

    October 2015 (13)

    September 2015 (15)

    July 2015 (3)

    June 2015 (22)

    March 2015 (3)

    Please reload

    Follow Us
    • Grey Facebook Icon
    • Grey YouTube Icon
    • Grey Instagram Icon
    • Grey Twitter Icon