The Investigators wish to study the value of dermatologic testing assessments in differentiating between cellulitis and pseudocellulitis in the inpatient setting. The Investigators propose that by utilizing cutaneous biopsies and tissue cultures in patients that have been admitted to inpatient internal medicine teams, the investigators may be able to improve multiple measures of hospital efficiency in patients presenting with cellulitis-like symptoms, by more accurately recognizing cellulitis from pseudocellulitis. The patient will undergo encrypted digital imaging for his or her condition. This image will then be sent to the study investigators, along with basic clinical information on the skin evaluation form. The study investigators will develop a differential diagnosis and then the patient will undergo a skin biopsy. The patient will then be randomized to one of two arms using a random number generator: A) Skin biopsies and tissue cultures recorded and published in patient's medical chart as they would be in a standard of care procedure B) Skin biopsies and tissue cultures consultation performed but not published in the patient's medical chart unless medically necessary. Information will be collected from medical records in IHIS. Patients will be contacted by phone 30 days after discharge.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
56
The patient will undergo two 6 mm punch biopsies into the affected extremity at the most proximal portion of the redness.
The Ohio State University Dermatology
Gahanna, Ohio, United States
The feasibility of conducting a larger study will be conducted, by establishing patient enrollment rates
According to the NIH: The goal of pilot work is not to test hypotheses about the effects of an intervention, but rather, to assess the feasibility/acceptability of an approach to be used in a larger scale study. We will use descriptive statistics to monitor patient enrollment and pilot data on additional secondary outcomes for inferential statistics.
Time frame: At study completion, around 2 years after study start
Change in antibiotic use (antibiotics/day administered) over the course of the hospitalizations
Cellulitis is a common type of bacterial skin infection. Pseudocellulitis is a skin infection that is very similar to cellulitis and is often misdiagnosed as cellulitis
Time frame: 1 year
The rate of participant readmission within 30 days
The investigators will examine 30 day readmission rates between standard care and interventional care
Time frame: 1 year
Length of hospitalization as measured in days
The investigators will examine hospital length-of-stay in patients randomized to interventional vs standard care
Time frame: 1 year
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