Penicillin for the Emergency Department Outpatient Treatment of CELLulitis

Summary

The main objective of this study is to investigate the non-inferiority of oral flucloxacillin alone compared with a combination of oral flucloxacillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin for the emergency department directed outpatient treatment of cellulitis, wound infections and abscesses, recently renamed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs). Half of the trial participants will receive flucloxacillin and placebo in combination, and the remaining half will be treated will flucloxacillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin. In a secondary objective the trial aims to measure adherence and persistence of trial patients with outpatient antibiotic therapy. In addition a within-trial evaluation of the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained from the use of oral flucloxacillin compared with combination therapy from the perspective of the health-care payer (direct costs) the patient and government. Finally the study will externally validate the Extremity Soft Tissue Infection-score, a Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) questionnaire designed to quantify the impact of cellulitis, wound infections and abscesses on patient HRQL in clinical trials.

Timeline

Start

2016-12

Primary completion

2019-12

Completion

2019-12

Publications

• Background Quirke M, Saunders J, O'Sullivan R, Milenkovski H, Wakai A. A pilot cross-sectional study of patients presenting with cellulitis to emergency departments. Ir Med J. 2014 Nov-Dec;107(10):316-8.
• Background Dong SL, Kelly KD, Oland RC, Holroyd BR, Rowe BH. ED management of cellulitis: a review of five urban centers. Am J Emerg Med. 2001 Nov;19(7):535-40. doi: 10.1053/ajem.2001.28330.
• Background Kilburn SA, Featherstone P, Higgins B, Brindle R. Interventions for cellulitis and erysipelas. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jun 16;2010(6):CD004299. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004299.pub2.
• Background Storck AJ, Laupland KB, Read RR, Mah MW, Gill JM, Nevett D, Louie TJ. Development of a Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (HRQL) for patients with Extremity Soft Tissue Infections (ESTI). BMC Infect Dis. 2006 Oct 11;6:148. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-6-148.
• Background Quirke M, O'Sullivan R, McCabe A, Ahmed J, Wakai A. Are two penicillins better than one? A systematic review of oral flucloxacillin and penicillin V versus oral flucloxacillin alone for the emergency department treatment of cellulitis. Eur J Emerg Med. 2014 Jun;21(3):170-4. doi: 10.1097/MEJ.0b013e328360d980.
• Boland F, Quirke M, Gannon B, Plunkett S, Hayden J, McCourt J, O'Sullivan R, Eustace J, Deasy C, Wakai A. The Penicillin for the Emergency Department Outpatient treatment of CELLulitis (PEDOCELL) trial: update to the study protocol and detailed statistical analysis plan (SAP). Trials. 2017 Aug 24;18(1):391. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2121-2.

Drugs

Indications