Considering Criteria for Admission for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

Hospital capacity has been an ongoing challenge at many institutions. If you look at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic or currently with RSV cases within pediatric units being overwhelmed, overcrowded hospitals continue to be difficult scenarios and tax both the hospital institutions but also patients as they wait to get admitted and may be in uncomfortable health states.

Whereas some patients absolutely need to be cared for and followed as inpatients, some patients may be able to be treated in outpatient clinics. In recent years, the discussion around skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) and the ability to treat them in outpatient clinics when appropriate has been one strategy to help with overcapacity.

Bruce M. Jones, PharmD, FIDSA, BCPS, infectious diseases clinical pharmacy specialist at St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah, GA, says the biggest reason why they are seeing SSTI patients come in is when oral antibiotics are not efficacious, possibly because of a penicillin allergy. In these situations, and when appropriate, Jones will consult with patients on possibly doing penicillin graded challenges. He tries to counsel patients and give them all the information to help them make decisions about their care.

Contagion is introducing a short series of video interviews to discuss SSTIs, and Jones sat down in a far-ranging interview to discuss criteria and decisions around whether SSTIs should be treated as inpatient or outpatient, what his institution is experiencing, and his perspective on the therapy pipeline.

In this episode, Jones discusses the transitional phase of care, what criteria results are best for inpatient treatment of SSTIs, and consulting patients about their infections.