title: Current guidelines and recommendations for the management of skin and soft tissue infections.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The incidence of severe skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) has significantly increased over the last years. In addition, major ecological changes have been reported with the emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), involved in a large proportion of these cases. A large number of expert opinions, guidelines, and recommendations for the management of SSTIs have been published over the last decade. The purpose of this review is to compare these guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of six official publications have presented recommendations for the management of SSTIs. During the same period, other guidelines for the management of MRSA infections have also been published, including some recommendations for SSTIs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The applicability of the guidelines is questionable in many ways. The distinction between necrotizing/nonnecrotizing infections is valuable but difficult to apply prior to surgical management. The prescribers should choose a pragmatic approach to empirical antibiotic therapy, taking into account the patient's initial severity, the extent of infection and risk factors for resistant microorganisms essentially related to healthcare-associated circumstances.
authors.affiliation: aDépartement d'Anesthésie-Réanimation, CHU Bichat Claude-Bernard - HUPNVS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Denis Diderot bUniversity Denis Diderot, PRESS Sorbonne Cité, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montravers
authors.forename: Aurelie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Snauwaert
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Welsch
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003646:Debridement; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D018461:Soft Tissue Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents