Characteristics of bacterial skin infections in children compared to adults at a tertiary dermatologic center

• Published in: International journal of dermatology Vol. 38; no. 8; pp. 582 - 586
• Main Authors: Sugeng, Maria W., Ang, Por, Tan, Hiok Hee, Goh, Chee Leok, Centre, From the National Skin, Singapore, .
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.08.1999; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the skin; Biological and medical sciences; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Child, Preschool; Dermatology; Female; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Hospitals, Special; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sex Distribution; Singapore - epidemiology; Skin Diseases, Bacterial - epidemiology; Skin Diseases, Bacterial - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Tropical medicine; Asia; Singapore; Human; Infection; Skin disease; Bacteriosis; Adult; Skin; Child; Statistical study; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0011-9059; 1365-4632
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-4362.1999.00740.x

Background Bacterial skin infections in children and adults are caused by different organisms with different antimicrobial susceptibility. Methods A comparative retrospective study was carried out on 233 adults and 53 children with bacterial skin infections. Skin swab cultures and sensitivity tests were performed using standard methods. Statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson chi‐squared and Fisher tests. A P value of <0.05 was considered to be significant. Results Primary and secondary skin infections occurred in equal proportions in children, whereas secondary skin infections were more common in adults (70.8%). Staphylococcus aureus was the main cause of skin infections, particularly in children (72.6%). S. aureus in children and adults was highly susceptible to cloxacillin, cephalexin, chloramphenicol, neomycin, cotrimoxazole, and clindamycin, moderately susceptible to erythromycin, and insensitive to tetracycline, ampicillin, and penicillin. Conclusions It is important to monitor the trends of bacterial infections and their antibiotic susceptibility as this can assist medical practitioners in their choice of antimicrobial therapy. Such monitoring will also help to detect the emergence of resistant bacterial strains and caution us to take care in the use of certain drugs.