Table 1.
Patient demographic and clinical characteristics
| Non-purulent cellulitis n=320 |
Wound infection or purulent cellulitis n=44 |
Cutaneous abscess n=169 |
Total n =533 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (standard deviation) | 50.0 (24.3) | 32.2 (23.6) | 37.2 (22.4) | 44.5 (24.6) |
| Male | 176 (55) | 27 (61) | 114 (67) | 317 (59) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 72 (23) | 8 (18) | 27 (16) | 107 (20) |
| Current smoker | 56 (18) | 6 (14) | 54 (32) | 116 (22) |
| Alcohol abuse or dependence | 30 (9) | 4 (9) | 18 (11) | 52 (10) |
| Injection drug use | 8 (3) | 0 | 28 (17) | 36 (7) |
| Cirrhosis | 19 (6) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 21 (4) |
| HIV infection | 4 (1) | 0 | 8 (5) | 12 (2) |
| Dialysis dependence | 6 (2) | 1 (2) | 0 | 7 (1) |
| Lower extremity vascular impairment | 84 (26) | 3 (7) | 9 (5) | 96 (18) |
| Chronic venous stasis | 51 (16) | 2 (5) | 6 (4) | 59 (11) |
| Lymphedema | 42 (13) | 0 | 2 (1) | 44 (8) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 9 (3) | 0 | 0 | 9 (2) |
| Saphenous vein harvest | 16 (5) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 18 (3) |
| Prior skin infection | 81 (25) | 13 (30) | 51 (30) | 145 (27) |
| Prior MRSA infection or colonization | 30 (9) | 7 (16) | 23 (14) | 60 (11) |
| Immunosuppressing condition a | 51 (16) | 6 (14) | 12 (7) | 69 (13) |
| Charlson age-comorbidity index, median (IQR) | 2 (0–4) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–2) | 1 (0–4) |
| Anatomical location | ||||
| Lower extremity | 232 (73) | 28 (64) | 65 (38) | 325 (61) |
| Upper extremity | 51 (16) | 5 (11) | 46 (27) | 102 (19) |
| Head and neck | 28 (9) | 6 (14) | 20 (12) | 54 (10) |
| Buttock or inguinal | 9 (3) | 2 (5) | 29 (17) | 40 (8) |
| Chest, abdomen, back, or axilla | 9 (3) | 4 (9) | 25 (15) | 38 (7) |
| Multiple distinct sites | 16 (5) | 3 (7) | 19 (11) | 38 (7) |
| Recurrent infection | 15 (5) | 2 (5) | 6 (4) | 23 (4) |
| Intensive care unit admission | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 (2) | 5 (1) |
| Medical primary service b | 289 (90) | 38 (86) | 114 (67) | 441 (83) |
| Surgical consultation c | 63 (20) | 13 (30) | 62 (37) | 138 (26) |
| Infectious Diseases consultation | 103 (32) | 7 (16) | 42 (25) | 152 (29) |
| Failed initial outpatient antibiotic therapy | 98 (31) | 21 (48) | 60 (36) | 179 (34) |
| Fever (temperature ≥38.0°C) | 74 (23) | 8 (18) | 41 (24) | 123 (23) |
| Leukocytosis (WBC >10,000 cells/mm3) | 125 (39) | 23 (52) | 93 (55) | 241 (45) |
Data presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; IQR, interquartile range; WBC, white blood cells.
a
Immunosuppressing medication (42), connective tissue disease or vasculitis (20), solid organ malignancy undergoing chemotherapy (15), organ transplant (12), hematologic malignancy (11), neutropenia (5)
b
Internal or Family Medicine (353) or Pediatrics (88)
c
General Surgery (66), Orthopedics (46), Podiatry (13), Otolaryngology (11), Urology (2), Vascular Surgery (1), or Neurosurgery (1)