Overview on the Causes and Updated Management of Impetigo
Abdullah Rahil Alotaibi *
Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Hospital, Venus Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Rahaf Mohammad Alshahrani
King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.
Ahad Awadh Alanazi
King Abdullah University Hospital, Saudi Arabia.
Marwah khalil I Almalki
Alrayan medical college, Saudi Arabia.
Saleh Asaad Alsaadoon
Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia.
Ahood Ahmad Ali Mahjari
Najran University, Saudi Arabia.
Duaa Abdullah Alahmadi
Alrayan medical college, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Impetigo is the most common bacterial skin infection in children between the ages of 2 and 5. There are two main types: non-vesicular (70% of cases) and bullous (30% of cases). Non-bullous impetigo or impetigo is caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes and is characterized by honey-colored skin on the face and limbs. Impetigo primarily affects the skin or is a secondary infection with insect bites, eczema, or herpes lesions. Bullous impetigo caused only by S. aureus causes large, relaxed blisters and is more likely to affect the interstitial area. Both types usually resolve within a few weeks without scarring, and complications are rare, the most serious of which is streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Treatment includes topical antibiotics such as mupirocin, retapamulin, and fusidic acid. Oral antibiotic therapy can be used for impetigo with large blisters, or when topical therapy is not practical. Amoxicillin / clavulanate, dicloxacillin, cephalexin, clindamycin, doxicillin, minocycline, trimetoprim / sulfamethoxazole, and macrolides are optional, but penicillin is not.
Keywords: Impetigo, skin, skin infection in children, management of impetigo