[Treatment of erysipelas in Germany and Austria--results of a survey in German and Austrian dermatological clinics].

Background: Erysipelas is a severe soft tissue infection usually caused by streptococci. The infection is restricted to the dermis and subcutaneous tissues. Treatment with antibiotics is essential. Many different therapeutic regimens are recommended, based mainly on empirical data and only partly proven by clinical studies.

Material And Methods: Our aim was to evaluate the treatment of erysipelas in Germany and Austria by means of a questionnaire and to derive treatment recommendations from this data.

Results And Conclusion: The majority of clinics treat patients with erysipelas as inpatients with intravenous antibiotics. The usual first line treatment is group G penicillin (80%). Other choices include amino-penicillins (11%), cephalosporins (16.5%) and anti-staphylococcal penicillins (6.9%) are used. As second line antibiotics macrolides (63.5%), clindamycin (52.5%), penicillins (18.5%), cephalosporins (40%) and fluoroquinolones (20.5%) are mentioned. Carbapenems, tetracyclines, nitroimidazoles, glycopeptides, aminoglycosides, cotrimoxazole, fusidic acid and fosfomycin are used rarely. The median treatment duration is 10 days. Adjuvant measures are anticoagulation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, dressings, immobilization and treatment of local predisposing factors such as interdigital tinea.