Cellulitis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 34 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1553-5592
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.19

✦ Synopsis

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) states there were approximately 340,000 hospital discharges in 2002 with a Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) for Cellulitis. Patients with cellulitis with complications and co-morbidities had a mean length-of-stay of 5.3 days with an in-hospital mortality of 0.8%. The mean charges for these patients were $13,000. The figures were slightly improved for uncomplicated cellulitis, as the mean length-of-stay dropped to 3.6 days and total charges decreased to $8,000 per patient. Hospitalists can provide leadership to standardize care delivery, improve discharge planning, and promptly identify and address severe cases of cellulitis that require further intervention.