Cellulitis: Difference between revisions
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'''Cellulitis''' is "an acute, diffuse, and suppurative inflammation of loose connective tissue, particularly the deep subcutaneous tissues, and sometimes muscle, which is most commonly seen as a result of infection of a wound, ulcer, or other skin lesions." <ref>{{MeSH}}</ref> The condition has been known from antiquity; generations of medical students learned its signs as ''rubor, tumor, calor, dolor'' or "reddened, swollen, warm to the touch, and painful." The presence of broken skin in the inflamed area is a further warning, but there may be no obvious wound. | '''Cellulitis''' is "an acute, diffuse, and suppurative inflammation of loose connective tissue, particularly the deep subcutaneous tissues, and sometimes muscle, which is most commonly seen as a result of infection of a wound, ulcer, or other skin lesions." <ref>{{MeSH}}</ref> The condition has been known from antiquity; generations of medical students learned its signs as ''rubor, tumor, calor, dolor'' or "reddened, swollen, warm to the touch, and painful." The presence of broken skin in the inflamed area is a further warning, but there may be no obvious wound. | ||
It is sometimes self-limiting, but almost always will need [[antibiotic]] therapy and sometimes surgical debridement and drainage. Differential diagnosis to rule out life-threatening conditions, such as [[deep venous thrombosis]] and [[gangrene]], is essential; a presentation of the common signs of cellulitis needs urgent, if not emergent, evaluation. | It is sometimes self-limiting, but almost always will need [[antibiotic]] therapy and sometimes surgical debridement and drainage. Differential diagnosis to rule out life-threatening conditions, such as [[deep venous thrombosis]], [[compartment syndrome]] and [[gangrene]], is essential; a presentation of the common signs of cellulitis needs urgent, if not emergent, evaluation. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Revision as of 11:48, 16 February 2009
Cellulitis is "an acute, diffuse, and suppurative inflammation of loose connective tissue, particularly the deep subcutaneous tissues, and sometimes muscle, which is most commonly seen as a result of infection of a wound, ulcer, or other skin lesions." [1] The condition has been known from antiquity; generations of medical students learned its signs as rubor, tumor, calor, dolor or "reddened, swollen, warm to the touch, and painful." The presence of broken skin in the inflamed area is a further warning, but there may be no obvious wound.
It is sometimes self-limiting, but almost always will need antibiotic therapy and sometimes surgical debridement and drainage. Differential diagnosis to rule out life-threatening conditions, such as deep venous thrombosis, compartment syndrome and gangrene, is essential; a presentation of the common signs of cellulitis needs urgent, if not emergent, evaluation.
References
- ↑ Anonymous (2024), Cellulitis (English). Medical Subject Headings. U.S. National Library of Medicine.