Researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute have found two antibiotics commonly prescribed for cellulitis have similar cure rates for uncomplicated infections in outpatients.
The L.A. BioMed trial was the first of its kind to test which antibiotics specifically are most effective in treating cellulitis.
Cellulitis is a relatively common, albeit potentially serious, bacterial skin infection that causes swelling, redness and tenderness. It can spread quickly to different parts of the body although it doesn't usually spread from person to person.
The skin infection is frequently caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
"Serious skin infections can cause major medical complications and lead to the death of a patient, so it's important to understand the most effective treatments, especially with the rise in MRSA, which is, by definition, resistant to many antibiotics," said Loren G. Miller, MD, an LA BioMed infectious disease specialist and an author of the study.
Researchers studied more than 500 adults and children with uncomplicated skin infections who had cellulitis either in conjunction with or without abscesses. Roughly half of the participants received clindamycin while the other half received trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, also known as TMP-SMX.
They found similar outcomes for both groups — 80.3 percent of the clindamycin patients and 77.7 percent of the TMP-SMX patients were cured within seven to 10 days after the end of their treatment.
More articles on MRSA:
Pets may make MRSA outbreaks worse, study finds
Homes are hotbeds for transmitting MRSA among inhabitants
MRSA decontamination reduces risk for SSIs in orthopedic surgery