Cutaneous infections in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

Skin infection is common in patients with any skin diseases where pruritus is a prominent feature. A retrospective analysis was performed on the results of skin swab cultures from patients with eczema and a variety of other conditions. This paper presents the findings of bacteriologic culture and sensitivity testing of 131 swabs from 122 patients over a period of 22 months and examines the results in terms of the reported relationship between scabies and acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Staphylococcus aureus was most often isolated, and this appears to indicate that antistaphylococcal antibiotics should be the first line of treatment in the absence of the results of cultures. (AU)