Reducing inappropriate investigations for minor lower limb cellulitis.

Area of Science:

• Internal Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Lower limb cellulitis is common in acute care settings.
• Unnecessary blood cultures and X-rays increase costs and hospital stays.
• Current practices often lack rationalized decision-making for mild cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the frequency of blood cultures and X-rays for lower limb cellulitis.
• To implement quality improvement methods to optimize management.
• To reduce healthcare costs and hospitalisation duration.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of electronic medical records.
• Implementation of quality improvement initiatives.
• Focus on enhancing staff awareness and accessibility of management guidelines.

Main Results:

• Blood culture collection decreased from a median of 73.3% to 52.3%.
• Direct healthcare cost savings were achieved.
• No significant reduction in lower limb X-ray frequency was observed.

Conclusions:

• Quality improvement initiatives can effectively reduce unnecessary blood cultures for lower limb cellulitis.
• Targeted interventions are needed to address the overuse of X-ray imaging.
• Accessible and pragmatic initiatives drive sustained positive impact in clinical practice.