TREATMENT OF SKIN AND SOFT-TISSUE INFECTIONS

Bacterial infections of the skin range from mild pyodermas to life-thr eatening necrotizing infections, Pyodermas are most often due to Staph ylococcus aureus or beta-hemolytic Streptococcus sp, whereas infection s associated with skin ulcers of the extremities, infections following trauma or surgery, and histotoxic necrotizing infections may involve a large number of additional pathogens, including Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas sp, enterococci, and anaerobes, Management of bacterial sk in and soft-tissue infections includes appropriate surgical drainage o r excision of infected tissue and antimicrobial therapy, The combinati on of piperacillin and the beta-lactamase inhibitor tazobactam is a ne wly released antimicrobial, which has excellent in vitro activity agai nst the vast majority of pathogens involved in skin infections. Two mu lticenter studies recently evaluated the efficacy and safety of pipera cillin/tazobactam in the therapy of skin and soft-tissue infections in hospitalized patients, Piperacillin/tazobactam was well tolerated and demonstrated high clinical efficacy for the treatment of these infect ions.