This review found limited high- quality evidence to inform the treatment of impetigo .
BACKGROUND Impetigo is a common clinical problem seen in general practice .
Uncertainty exists as to the most effective treatment , or indeed if treatment is necessary .
AIM To determine the most effective treatment for impetigo in a systemically well patient .
Comparison of mupirocin and erythromycin in the treatment of impetigo.
For the past two decades the accepted treatment of impetigo has been systemic antibiotic therapy , l The recently approved topical antibiotic mupirocin has excellent in vitro activity against Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus , including multiply resistant strains . Originally called pseudomonic acid A , mupirocin is obtained from submerged fermentation of Pseudomonas fluorescens ; it acts by inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis by inactivation of isoleucyl transfer RNA synthetase . Rapidly inactivated and rapidly excreted when given systemically , mupirocin has been shown to be safe in animal and human trials.2 , 3 Double-blind studies prove mupirocin to be more effective than its polyethylene glycol vehicle for treatment of impetigo.4 , 5 Several nonblind or poorly controlled clinical trials have suggested that mupirocin  's  efficacy is comparable to that of orally administered antibiotics commonly used to treat impetigo , namely , erythromycin , 6 - 1~ ampicillin , 11 and dicloxacillin . 12 We intended to vali date these findings in a double-blind , placebo-controlled study . We further hypothesized that erythromycin would cause more adverse side effects and result in poorer compliance , making mupirocin the preferred medication
This review found limited high- quality evidence to inform the treatment of impetigo .
BACKGROUND Impetigo is a common clinical problem seen in general practice .
Uncertainty exists as to the most effective treatment , or indeed if treatment is necessary .
AIM To determine the most effective treatment for impetigo in a systemically well patient .