Bullous erysipelas: A retrospective study of 26 patients

Background: Erysipelas is a superficial form of cellulitis caused by a vari ety of microbes, and it responds to antibiotic treatment. During the past f ew years we treated several patients with a bullous form of erysipelas invo lving the lower legs. We believe their disease had a more protracted course than patients with nonbullous erysipelas. Objective: We studied bullous erysipelas by conducting a retrospective anal ysis of 26 patients with bullous erysipelas of the legs treated by the auth ors during a 5-year period. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the records of all patients with a diagnosis of bullous erysipelas who were treated at the Department of Dermatology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, between the years 1992 and 1996. Data regarding patients with nonbullous erysipelas were obtained from the medical center's computerized data pool. Results: A total of 26 cases of bullous erysipelas were found, comprising 2 2 women and 4 men whose ages ranged from 28 to 87 (mean, 58.8) years. The a verage hospital stay was 20.57 days (range, 12 to 46 days). The average hos pital stay for patients with nonbullous erysipelas and cellulitis treated i n the same department by the authors during the study period was 10.6 days (range, 2 to 54 days). Conclusion: Bulla formation is a complication of erysipelas, seen in our se ries in 5.2% of the patients (26 of 498 admissions for erysipelas and cellu litis). The course of the disease is protracted, requiring longer medical a ttention.