Efficacy and safety of 2% mupirocin ointment in the treatment of primary and secondary skin infections--an open multicentre trial.

Staphylococci and beta-haemolytic streptococci are usually responsible for causing common primary and secondary skin infections. Mupirocin (Bactroban, Eismycin; trademarks of Beecham Group plc), a new antibiotic unrelated to any other antibacterial agent and developed for topical use only, shows a high level of activity against these bacteria. In an open multicentre study the efficacy and safety of mupirocin (2% in a polyethylene glycol vehicle) was evaluated in 1,391 general practice patients with superficial skin infections. The most common skin infections treated were pyoderma (eg, impetigo, folliculitis) and secondarily infected skin lesions. Treatment consisted of application of the ointment three times daily for an average of nine days. A total of 1,304 patients were evaluable for post-treatment clinical assessment. At the end of the treatment 961 (73.7 per cent) patients were cured and in 293 (22.5 per cent) patients the symptoms of the infection had markedly improved. In total, 525 bacterial strains were isolated from the wounds of 445 patients, predominantly staphylococci (n = 344) and streptococci (n = 93). Local side effects such as burning, itching and reddening were observed in 39 (2.9 per cent) of 1,357 patients. No evidence of systemic toxicity or abnormal laboratory data was noted. Mupirocin 2% ointment proved to be effective and safe in the treatment of primary and secondary skin infections.