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Predictors of Oral Antibiotic Treatment Failure for Non-Purulent Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the Emergency Department.
Acad Emerg Med. 2018 Jun 05;:
Authors: Yadav K, Suh KN, Eagles D, MacIsaac J, Ritchie D, Bernick J, Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, Wells G, Stiell IG
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Current guideline recommendations for optimal management of non-purulent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are based on expert consensus. There is a lack of evidence to guide emergency physicians regarding selection of patients for oral versus intravenous antibiotic therapy. The primary objective was to identify predictors associated with oral antibiotic treatment failure.
METHODS: We performed a health records review of adults (age ≥18 years) with non-purulent SSTIs treated at two tertiary care emergency departments (EDs). Oral antibiotic treatment failure was defined as any of the following after a minimum of 48 hours of oral therapy due to worsening infection: (i) hospitalization; (ii) change in class of oral antibiotic; or (iii) switch to intravenous therapy. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors independently associated with oral antibiotic treatment failure.
RESULTS: We enrolled 500 patients [mean age 64 years, 279 male (55.8%) and 126 (25.2%) with diabetes]. Of 288 patients who had received a minimum of 48 hours of oral antibiotics, there were 85 oral antibiotic treatment failures (29.5%). Tachypnea at triage (odds ratio [OR] = 6.31, 95% CI = 1.80 to 22.08), chronic ulcers (OR = 4.90, 95% CI = 1.68 - 14.27), history of MRSA colonization or infection (OR = 4.83, 95% CI = 1.51 to 15.44), and cellulitis in the past 12 months (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.01 to 4.96) were independently associated with oral antibiotic treatment failure CONCLUSION: This is the first study to evaluate predictors of oral antibiotic treatment failure for non-purulent SSTIs treated in the ED. Tachypnea at triage, chronic ulcers, history of MRSA colonization or infection and cellulitis within the past year were independently associated with oral antibiotic treatment failure. Emergency physicians should consider these risk factors when deciding on oral versus intravenous antimicrobial therapy for outpatient management of non-purulent SSTIs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID: 29869364 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]