Table 1.
Patient demographic and clinical characteristics
| Diabetes mellitus N = 167 |
No diabetes mellitus N = 603 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Type of infection | ||
| Cellulitis | 112 (67) | 335 (56) a |
| Cutaneous abscess | 55 (33) | 268 (44) |
| Age, median (IQR) | 55 (47–63) | 48 (36–58) a |
| Male | 102 (61) | 405 (67) |
| Injection drug use | 9 (5) | 117 (19) a |
| Alcohol abuse or dependence | 15 (9) | 86 (14) |
| Cirrhosis | 11 (7) | 17 (3) a |
| HIV infection | 0 | 29 (5) a |
| Dialysis dependence | 4 (2) | 5 (1) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 4 (2) | 5 (1) |
| Saphenous vein harvest | 7 (4) | 11 (2) |
| Prior skin infection | 56 (34) | 125 (21) a |
| Prior MRSA infection or colonization | 20 (12) | 50 (8) |
| Anatomical location | ||
| Lower extremity | 80 (48) | 200 (33) a |
| Upper extremity | 6 (4) | 79 (13) a |
| Head and neck | 14 (8) | 38 (6) |
| Buttock or inguinal | 8 (5) | 35 (6) |
| Chest, abdomen, back, or axilla | 9 (5) | 25 (4) |
| Multiple distinct sites | 7 (4) | 34 (6) |
| Medical primary service | 139 (83) | 395 (66) a |
| Consultation requested | 99 (59) | 294 (49) a |
| Surgery | 58 (35) | 152 (25) a |
| Internal Medicine | 18 (11) | 47 (8) |
| Infectious Diseases | 41 (25) | 149 (25) |
| Failed initial outpatient antibiotic therapy | 52 (31) | 186 (31) |
| Fever (temperature ≥38.0°C) | 20 (12) | 102 (17) |
| Leukocytosis (WBC >10,000 cells/mm3) | 78 (47) | 311 (52) |
Data presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted. IQR, interquartile range. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
a
Difference between diabetic and non-diabetic groups statistically significant (p <0.05)