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Published on: February 9, 2011

Pediatric abscess characteristics associated with hospital admission from the ED

Michael W Sauer1, Daniel A Hirsh, Harold K Simon

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. mwsauer@emory.edu

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|August 17, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric soft tissue abscesses requiring hospital admission are often larger than 3 cm, located on the face, breast, or genital area, and associated with fever or prior emergency department visits.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Emergency medicine

Background:

  • Soft tissue abscesses are common pediatric infections.
  • Predicting the need for hospital admission is crucial for resource allocation and patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify clinical and demographic factors associated with hospital admission for pediatric soft tissue abscesses.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 622 pediatric emergency department visits for soft tissue abscesses in 2008.
  • Analysis of abscess characteristics (size, location), patient symptoms (fever, duration), and medical history (prior visits, antibiotic use).
  • Statistical analysis to determine predictors of hospital admission.

Main Results:

  • 18% of patients were admitted. Abscesses leading to admission were larger (>3 cm), located on the face, breast, or genital area, and associated with fever.
  • Prior emergency department visits for the same complaint also predicted admission.
  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was present in 77% of cultured abscesses.

Conclusions:

  • Abscess size, location (genital, breast, face), fever, and prior emergency department visits are key indicators for pediatric soft tissue abscess admission.
  • Blood cultures appear to have limited clinical utility in managing these cases.
Abstract

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