Conditions: Skin Disease, Bacterial Abscess
Keywords: Methicillin resistent Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 249
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
The objective of this study is to determine if there is a difference in treatment failures and recurrent skin infections when patients are given 3 or 10 days of antibiotics for uncomplicated skin abscesses after they have been surgically drained.

Detailed description:
Patients age 3 months to 17 years presenting to a pediatric Emergency Department (ED) with an uncomplicated skin abscess that required surgical drainage were randomized to receive 3 or 10 days of oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Patients were evaluated 10 to 14 days later to assess for cure. Patients were contacted 1 month later to determine if they had developed another skin infection. Outcomes were also stratified by methicillin-resistent staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus (MSSA).

Arms:
arm 1: Oral Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole dosed at 10 mg Trimethoprim/kg/day divided twice a day, to a maximum of 640 mg Trimethoprim/day arm 2: Oral Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole dosed at 10 mg Trimethoprim/kg/day divided twice a day, to a maximum of 640 mg Trimethoprim/day

Interventions: intervention 1: Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 3 versus 10 days of drug

Protocol document: