Episode 910: Cellulitis Recovery Timeline

Episode 910: Cellulitis Recovery Timeline

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD

Educational Pearls:

How fast does cellulitis recover?

  • A recent prospective cohort study took a look at this question.

  • The study included 300 adults with cellulitis (excluding those with peri-orbital cellulitis or abscesses) in two emergency departments in Queensland, Australia.

  • They collected data from initial and follow-up surveys at 3, 7, and 14 days, and compared clinician and patient assessments at day 14.

  • Improvement was fastest between day 0 and day 3, with gradual progress thereafter.

  • At day 14, many still had skin redness and swelling, though warmth had often resolved. Clinicians reported higher cure rates than patients (85.8% vs. 52.8%).

  • Conclusion:

    • Cellulitis symptoms improve quickly at first but continue to linger for many patients.

    • Patients and doctors often have different views on when cellulitis is fully cured.

How should we counsel patients?

  • Even on antibiotics, the margins of the cellulitis may continue to spread a small amount.

  • Skin warmth should be the first symptom to go away.

  • It takes time to get better. Only about 50% of patients believed their cellulitis was cured at 2 weeks.

References

  1. Nightingale, R. S., Etheridge, N., Sweeny, A. L., Smyth, G., Dace, W., Pellatt, R. A. F., Snelling, P. J., Yadav, K., & Keijzers, G. (2024). Cellulitis in the Emergency Department: A prospective cohort study with patient-centred follow-up. Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA, 10.1111/1742-6723.14401. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.14401

Summarized by Jeffrey Olson MS2 | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMSIII

Jaksot(1145)

Episode 905: Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) for Influenza

Episode 905: Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) for Influenza

Contributor: Aaron Lessem MD Educational Pearls:  Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is an antiviral medication used commonly to treat influenza Trials show that the medication reduces the duration of illness ...

27 Touko 20242min

Episode 904: Cardiovascular Risks of Epinephrine

Episode 904: Cardiovascular Risks of Epinephrine

Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: Epinephrine is essential in the treatment of anaphylaxis, but is epinephrine dangerous from a cardiovascular perspective? A 2024 study in the Journal o...

20 Touko 20242min

Episode 903: Treating Precipitated Opioid Withdrawal

Episode 903: Treating Precipitated Opioid Withdrawal

Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: Opioid overdoses that are reversed with naloxone (Narcan), a mu-opioid antagonist, can precipitate acute withdrawal in some patients Treatment of o...

13 Touko 20242min

Episode 902: Liver Failure and Cirrhosis

Episode 902: Liver Failure and Cirrhosis

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD Educational Pearls: How do you differentiate between compensated and decompensated cirrhosis? Use the acronym VIBE to look for signs of being decompensated. V-Volume ...

6 Touko 20243min

Episode 901: Underdosing in Status Epilepticus

Episode 901: Underdosing in Status Epilepticus

Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: Lorazepam (Ativan) is dosed at 0.1 mg/kg up to a maximum of 4 mg in status epilepticus Some ED protocols only give 2 mg initially The maximum r...

29 Huhti 20242min

Episode 900: Ketamine Dosing

Episode 900: Ketamine Dosing

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD Educational Pearls: Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist with a wide variety of uses in the emergency department. To dose ketamine remember the numbers 0.3, 1, and 3....

22 Huhti 20242min

Episode 899: Thrombolytic Contraindications

Episode 899: Thrombolytic Contraindications

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD Educational Pearls: Thrombolytic therapy (tPA or TNK) is often used in the ED for strokes Use of anticoagulants with INR > 1.7 or  PT >15 Warfarin will reliably i...

15 Huhti 20243min

Episode 898: Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Episode 898: Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Contributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD Educational Pearls: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome," is a temporary heart condition that can mimic the symptoms of a heart attack, inc...

10 Huhti 20243min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

tiedekulma-podcast
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-poliisin-mieli
docemilia
radio-antro
utelias-mieli
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-sosiopodi
ihanat-ipanat
mielipaivakirja
rss-bios-podcast
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-ammamafia
rss-laakaripodi
rss-opeklubi