Evaluation of a Staphylococcus Eradication Protocol for Patients Who Present to the ED With Cutaneous Abscess
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In this study, the investigators will enroll patients who present to the emergency department
with abscesses to the study. The patients will be randomly selected to either have the
standard of care, which includes the standard drainage of the abscess and then usually a
follow-up visit to recheck the wound, or to have the standard of care plus instructions to
use a topical scrub of a soap called chlorhexidine once a day for five days and twice daily
application of a topical antibiotic ointment called mupirocin to the nasal passages for five
days.
The investigators will then call back the patients at 7 days, 14 days (if in the treatment
arm), 3 months and 6 months, to ask if they have had any recurrence of abscess formation. The
study hypothesis is that the patients who have undergone the decontamination protocol will
have fewer subsequent infections.