Cellulitis and erysipelas: prevention.

INTRODUCTION

Cellulitis is a common problem caused by spreading bacterial inflammation of the skin, with redness, pain, and lymphangitis. Up to 40% of affected people have systemic illness. Erysipelas is a form of cellulitis with marked superficial inflammation, typically affecting the lower limbs and the face. The most common pathogens in adults are streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus. Cellulitis and erysipelas can result in local necrosis and abscess formation. Around one quarter of affected people have more than one episode of cellulitis within 3 years.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES

We conducted a systematic overview, aiming to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments to prevent recurrence of cellulitis and erysipelas? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to February 2015 (Clinical Evidence overviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this overview).

RESULTS

At this update, searching of electronic databases retrieved 323 studies. After deduplication and removal of conference abstracts, 184 records were screened for inclusion in the overview. Appraisal of titles and abstracts led to the exclusion of 170 studies and the further review of 14 full publications. Of the 14 full articles evaluated, one systematic review was added at this update. We performed a GRADE evaluation for one PICO combination.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic overview, we categorised the efficacy for two interventions based on information about to the effectiveness and safety of antibiotics and treatment of predisposing factors.