Clinical Trial: Evaluation of a Staphylococcus Eradication Protocol for Patients Who Present to the ED With Cutaneous Abscess

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional




Official Title: A Randomized Trial to Evaluate a Staphylococcus Eradication Protocol for Patients Who Present to the Emergency Department With Cutaneous Abscess

Brief 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.