ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dermatologic surgery is associated with low postoperative infection rates, averaging from approximately 1% to 4.25%. Often, postoperative infections are treated empirically based on clinical diagnosis of infection, given it can take 48 to 72 hours for a wound culture to identify a pathogen. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of empiric antibiotics in dermatologic surgery postoperative infections and if wound cultures change postoperative antibiotic therapy. METHODS: A 7-center, retrospective analysis of postoperative infections, with culture data, in dermatologic surgery patients was performed. RESULTS: Of 91 cases of clinically diagnosed postoperative infection, 82.4% (n = 75) were successfully treated with empiric oral antibiotics (95% confidence interval [0.73-0.89], p < .0001). In 16 (17.6%) cases, initial empiric antibiotics were unsuccessful, and wound culture results altered antibiotic therapy in 9 cases (9.9%) with 6 (6.6%) of these cases requiring additional coverage for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). CONCLUSION: Empiric antibiotic treatment is usually appropriate for patients with postoperative surgical-site infections with wound cultures altering antibiotic management in a minority of cases. When empiric antibiotics fail, lack of MRSA coverage is usually the cause; therefore, providers should be aware of local MRSA prevalence and susceptibilities.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Antibiotic Prophylaxis/methods , Dermatologic Surgical Procedures/adverse effects , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Surgical Wound Infection/drug therapy , Adult , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Bacteriological Techniques , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Female , Humans , Male , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Prevalence , Retrospective Studies , Skin Neoplasms/surgery , Surgical Wound Infection/diagnosis , Surgical Wound Infection/microbiologyABSTRACT
Melanoma is usually apparent on the skin and readily detected by trained medical providers using a routine total body skin examination, yet this malignancy is responsible for the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. Currently, there is no national consensus on skin cancer screening in the USA, but dermatologists and primary care providers are routinely confronted with making the decision about when to recommend total body skin examinations and at what interval. The objectives of this paper are: to propose rational, risk-based, data-driven guidelines commensurate with the US Preventive Services Task Force screening guidelines for other disorders; to compare our proposed guidelines to recommendations made by other national and international organizations; and to review the US Preventive Services Task Force's 2016 Draft Recommendation Statement on skin cancer screening.
