Lessons Learned From a Randomized Controlled Trial of Short-Course Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy for Erysipelas and Cellulitis of the Lower Limb (Switch Trial).

Background: The diagnosis of cellulitis is made clinically without a gold standard diagnostic test, and cellulitis has many disease mimics. There is currently no consensus for optimal antimicrobial treatment duration or method of antimicrobial delivery.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled open-label multicenter trial to determine the safety and efficacy of 24 hours of intravenous (IV) therapy compared with ≥72 hours of IV therapy, both followed by oral therapy to a maximum of 7-10 days' duration for the treatment of lower limb cellulitis.