BACKGROUND Reductions in the number of dispensed antibiotics and the incidence of respiratory infections presented to GPs and have been reported. Whether this trend applies to skin infections requires further investigation. AIM To examine trends in the incidence of skin infections in relation to trends in dispensed prescriptions for flucloxacillin, topical fusidic acid, mupirocin, and cortico...

In this issue of the journal, Friedland et al. (4) present a retrospective analysis of the two CANVAS trials (3), employing the newer endpoints from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (7). First, they are to be congratulated for having the foresight to include sufficient measurements in their trial to allow the reanalysis even prior to the issuance of the new guidelines. The analysis e...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence and factors influencing the presence of concomitant dermatomycoses in patients with toenail onychomycosis. DESIGN Prospective study based on a specially designed questionnaire completed by dermatologists. PATIENTS A total of 2761 patients with toenail onychomycosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The diagnosis of fungal skin infections was confirmed by direct m...

Skin and skin structure infections (SSSI) are an emerging issue in healthcare. They are responsible for increasing heathcare utilization, both in hospitalizations and intravenous antibiotic use. SSSI are caused by an evolving variety of pathogens, including Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and anaerobic bacteria. In combination with mounting resistance patterns, this diverse range of bacteria mand...

Moxifloxacin is a recent addition to the fluoroquinolone class, differing from ciprofloxacin and other older agents in having much better in vitro activity against Gram-positive aerobes while retaining potent activity against Gram-negative aerobes. It is also active against the pathogens of human and animal bite wounds and those species of atypical mycobacteria associated with dermatologic infe...

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD A dramatic increase in infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been observed, in part as a result of the epidemic of community-associated MRSA skin and skin-structure infections (SSSIs). Simultaneously, decreasing sensitivities of S. aureus to vancomycin have been reported and invasive infections caused by these strains have been assoc...