COMMON BACTERIAL SKIN INFECTIONS - DIAGNOSTIC CLUES AND THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS

Common skin infections are often identified and treated initially on t he basis of clinical findings.rather than culture results. Clues to th e infectious cause can be found in the patient's history and the dinic al presentation and morphologic appearance of the lesion. Empirical an timicrobial therapy should cover the pathogens that most commonly caus e a particular infection. The value of culture results depends on the techniques used to obtain, transport, and process the specimen and on the astuteness of laboratory technicians in recognizing unusual pathog ens.