title: Timeliness of appropriate antibiotics in hand infections.
abstract: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 110 patients to determine if there was a difference in the time to appropriate antibiotic treatment between methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and non-MRSA hand infections. Patients were included in the study only if they had a culture-positive hand infection and received antibiotic treatment. Thirty-two patients (18 male and 14 female) with an average age of 39.1 years (range, 6 months-72 years) met the inclusion criteria. We recorded patient age, gender, date of presentation, time to receiving any antibiotic, time to final culture results, and time to receiving culture-appropriate antibiotics. The overall prevalence of MRSA infection was 34%. When compared to those with non-MRSA infections, patients with MRSA hand infections experienced a substantial delay in receiving appropriate antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Downs
authors.forename: Montri D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wongworawat
authors.forename: Stephen F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Gregorius
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013207:Staphylococcal Skin Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents