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Skin Infections and Antibiotic Stewardship: Analysis of Emergency Department Prescribing Practices, 2007–2010 by Daniel Pallin; Carlos Camargo; Jeremiah Schuur is a Medicine article available to read on EtoBox.

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**Introduction:** National guidelines suggest that most skin abscesses do not require antibiotics, and that cellulitis antibiotics should target streptococci, not community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). The objective of this study is to describe antimicrobial treatment of skin infections in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) and analyze potential quality measures. **Methods:** The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) is a 4-stage probability sample of all non-federal U.S. ED visits. In 2007 NHAMCS started recording whether incision and drainage was performed at ED visits. We conducted a retrospective analysis, pooling 2007–2010 data, identified skin infections using diagnostic codes, and identified abscesses by performance of incision and drainage. We generated national estimates and 95% confidence intervals using weighted analyses; quantified frequencies and proportions; and evaluated antibiotic prescribing practices. We evaluated 4 parameters that might serve as quality measures of antibiotic stewardship, and present 2 of them as potentially robust enough for implementation. **Results:** Of all ED visits, 3.2% (95% confidence interval 3.1–3.4%) were for skin infec

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Author

Daniel Pallin; Carlos Camargo; Jeremiah Schuur

Publisher

Western Journal of Emergency Medicine

Published

2014

Language

EN

Field

Medicine (Health Sciences)