BMJ  2004;329:695-696 (25 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7468.695

Editorial

Treatment for impetigo

Evidence favours topical treatment with mupirocin, fusidic acid

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection, the fourth most common dermatological skin disorder in children seen in general practice. Most patients are treated by general practitioners. Proper hygiene and adequate treatment supposedly control the infection, but over the past decade the incidence of impetigo has not declined in the Netherlands.¹ For the individual patient, impetigo is a minor disease as a cure can be expected within weeks with most treatments. In developed countries, serious complications such as acute glomerulonephritis are rare.² Nevertheless the impact of an impetigo outbreak can be considerable. The unattractive appearance of the lesions may worry parents, and children are often barred from schools and kindergartens because of fear of spread of the infection. Outbreaks of impetigo caused by multiple resistant staphylococci have been reported.^{3 4} For the clinician the choice of treatment will be based primarily on effectiveness and side effects and then on costs and convenience . . . [Full text of this article]

Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Rotterdam 3000 DR, Netherlands (s.koning@erasmusmc.nl)

Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Rotterdam 3000 DR, Netherlands

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