Current guidelines and recommendations for the management of skin and soft tissue infections

The incidence of severe skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) has significantly increased over the last years. In addition, major ecological changes have been reported with the emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), involved in a large proportion of these cases. A large number of expert opinions, guidelines, and recommendations for the management of SSTIs have been published over the last decade. The purpose of this review is to compare these guidelines.

A total of six official publications have presented recommendations for the management of SSTIs. During the same period, other guidelines for the management of MRSA infections have also been published, including some recommendations for SSTIs.

The applicability of the guidelines is questionable in many ways. The distinction between necrotizing/nonnecrotizing infections is valuable but difficult to apply prior to surgical management. The prescribers should choose a pragmatic approach to empirical antibiotic therapy, taking into account the patient's initial severity, the extent of infection and risk factors for resistant microorganisms essentially related to healthcare-associated circumstances.