Publication:

Study of prognostic outcome of cellulitis patients with diabetes mellitus

Background Cellulitis is a non-suppurative, invasive infection of tissues, which is usually related to point of injury. It is a spreading inflammation. It is an acute bacterial infection causing inflammation of the deep dermis and surrounding subcutaneous tissue. To reduce morbidity and mortality early diagnosis and management with identification of co morbidities and treating them down is necessary. To make a full assessment of the cause, all patients require a detailed history, examination and investigations.

Methods This is a cross sectional comparative study of 50 patients having symptoms of cellulitis to be divided into two groups of 25 patients each where one group is having diabetes mellitus and other group without diabetes mellitus.

Results Diabetes mellitus patients have more morbidity and mortality in term of more days of hospital stay, rate of amputations and number of debridement. Early diagnosis, broad spectrum antibiotics and early aggressive debridement is the mainstay of management. Aggressive surgical debridement at initial stages of presentation can halt the clinical process and patient can have better prognosis. In neglected diabetic patients’ debridement alone is not sufficient and amputation may be required in some cases.

Conclusions Early diagnosis, broad spectrum antibiotics and early aggressive debridement in cellulitis patients results in better outcomes.