title: Survey of antibiotic prescription use for inflamed epidermal inclusion cysts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Symptomatic epidermal inclusion cysts (EICs) are variously called "inflamed" or "infected," and the mechanism of inflammation or suppuration is controversial. Whether physicians routinely prescribe antibiotics for inflamed EICs is of concern owing to cost and bacterial resistance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether there is any difference in the diagnosis and treatment of EICs between primary care physicians and dermatologists and to estimate the rate and cost of antibiotic prescriptions for EICs.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred twenty-five primary care physicians and 52 dermatologists were surveyed using a standard case study and a photograph.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-seven percent of the primary care physicians used the term "infected," whereas 69% of the dermatologists used the term "inflamed" or "ruptured." Eighty-four percent of the general practitioners and 94% of the dermatologists chose antibiotics for treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that despite the differences between general practitioners and dermatologists in diagnosis, the majority of physicians use antibiotics for the treatment of inflamed EICs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0783, USA.
authors.forename: Tasneem
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poonawalla
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Dayna G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Diven
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004814:Epidermal Cyst / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents