Bullous skin signs and laboratory surgical indicators can quickly and effectively differentiate necrotizing fasciitis from cellulitis

Cellulitis in Pediatric Patients: Recognition and Management in the Era of Evolving Resistance

Cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection most frequently caused by group A streptococci (Streptococcus pyogenes) and less so by Staphylococcus aureus, commonly occurs in pediatric patients. The non-specific clinical presentation of poorly demarcated, expanding erythema, and warmth is common to a multitude of similarly presenting conditions, contributing to challenges in accurate diagnosis. There is also no gold standard diagnostic test for cellulitis, as laboratory assessments, tissue and blood cultures, and imaging studies have not been helpful. These adjunctive studies may be useful, however, for ruling out mimickers or more serious or complicating conditions, such as osteomyelitis, necrotizing fasciitis, or abscess. Diagnosis remains largely clinical and evaluation by a dermatologist and/or infectious disease specialist continues to be the clinical gold standard. As a result, access to specialty care and further research into helpful adjunctive measures, such as thermal imaging, are imperative for accurate diagnosis and management to prevent inappropriate antibiosis. Multidrug resistance has continued to evolve since the initial emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with more recent studies showing an overall decline of methicillin-resistant S. aureus in the community and highest rates remaining in the Southern region of the USA. Despite changing resistance patterns, inappropriate prescribing patterns have persisted and contribute to rising rates of resistance to antibiotics such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and clindamycin. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent management with the narrowest possible antimicrobial therapy is ideal both for individual patient outcomes and for public health.

Lab on chip based self-adjustable liposomes for rapid wound healing: An in depth in vitro, in vivo and higher dose toxicity investigation

Thanks to microfluidic technology, different nano-delivery systems are becoming clinically viable. Using a novel and rapid microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing (MHF) method (lipids on chip) we developed self-adaptable liposomes (SLs) containing cefpodoxime proxetil (CP) for the treatment of skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. SLs were optimized using different flow rate ratios in the MHF method and the final formulation CPT3 was found to be the best in terms of particle size (68.27 ± 01.15 nm), % entrapment efficiency (% EE: 82 ± 1.5), polydispersity (PDI: 0.2 ± 0.012), and degree of deformability (DOD: 4.7 ± 0.18 nm). Rats (Sprague Dawley) treated with a self-adaptable CPT3 liposomal formulation recuperate skin injury, exhibited reduced bacterial counts (<106 CFU/mL) in the wounded region, and completely restored (100 %) on day 21. Rat survival, in vivo dermal pharmacokinetics and ex vivo-in vivo relationship were also investigated. Rats treated with an even 10-fold higher dose (100 mg/kg/day) of CP using an equivalent CPT3 formulation did not show any symptoms of toxicity as revealed by hematological, biochemical, and internal organ assessment observations. Finally, the developed CPT3 formulation with special interest in patients with high-risk skin injuries not only delivered CP in a controlled manner but was also clinically effective and safe as it did not produce any serious adverse events even at 10× higher doses in the infected rats.

Initial skin necrosis presentation at emergency room was associated with fulminant clinical course and mortality in patients with Vibrio necrotizing fasciitis

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening infection. Skin necrosis is an important skin sign of NF. The purposes of this study was to investigate the initial skin conditions of Vibrio NF patients between emergency room (ER) to preoperative status, to compare the clinical and laboratory risk indicators of the skin necrosis group and non-skin necrosis group when they arrived at ER, and to evaluate whether initial cutaneous necrosis related to fulminant course and higher fatalities. From 2015 to 2019, seventy-two Vibrio NF patients with surgical confirmation were enrolled. We identified 25 patients for inclusion in the skin necrosis group and 47 patients for inclusion in the non-skin necrosis group due to the appearance of skin lesion at ER. Seven patients died, resulting in a mortality rate of 9.7%. Six patients of skin necrosis group and one patient of non-skin necrosis group died, which revealed the skin necrosis group had a significantly higher mortality rate than the non-skin necrosis group. All the patients in the skin necrosis group and 30 patients of non-skin necrosis group developed serous or hemorrhagic bullous lesions before operation (p = 0.0003). The skin necrosis group had a significantly higher incidence of APACHE score, postoperative intubation, Intensive care unit stay, septic shock, leukopenia, higher counts of banded leukocytes, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and lower serum albumin level. Vibrio NF patients presenting skin necrosis at ER were significantly associated with fulminant clinical courses and higher mortality. Physicians should alert the appearance of skin necrosis at ER to early suspect NF and treat aggressively by those clinical and laboratory risk indicators, such as elevated APACHE score, shock, leukopenia, higher banded leukocytes, elevated CRP, and hypoalbuminia.