Abstract
to analyze the microbiological profile of leg ulcers of patients treated at outpatient clinics and hospitals regarding the type of microorganism, microbiological selection of antibiotics, and techniques for the collection of culture material. literature review performed on LILACS, IBECS, MEDLINE, and CINAHL databases, resulting in a descriptive analysis of 27 studies. 35.7% of the studies occurred in an outpatient care scenario; and 64.2% in hospitals. There was a predominance of swab (100%) in outpatient care and biopsy (55.5%) in the hospital. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus were more common at both levels of assistance. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in both. the microbiological profile of infections was similar, with the presence of resistant bacteria in both environments. This fact causes concern and raises the need for research to elucidate it. The studies did not compare the effectiveness between biopsy and swab.
Highlights
METHODSLeg ulcer is defined as a skin defect below knee level that persists for more than six weeks and shows no tendency of healing after three or more months, and is part of the group of chronic wounds
The predominance of Gram-negative bacteria was similar in outpatient and hospital care, a common finding in studies evaluating the microbiological profile of ulcers(5,30,37)
Studies that evaluated the resistance profile of microorganisms isolated from infected ulcers identified the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(14,39); Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to classes of cephalosporins, monobactamics, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, chlorophenicol, chylones and fluoroquilones, and β-lactam inhibitors(40); Antibioticresistant Escherichia coli such as amikacin, imipinem, tazobactam, cefepime, ceftazidime, levofloxacin, ciprofloxaxine, tobramycin, aztreonam, gentamicin, ampicillin, sulbactam, cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ceftriaxine, cefotethane, furantoin, and sulfamethoxazole(41)
Summary
Leg ulcer is defined as a skin defect below knee level that persists for more than six weeks and shows no tendency of healing after three or more months, and is part of the group of chronic wounds. This condition is not considered a medical diagnosis, but a manifestation of the disease process. It is a relatively common condition among adults, affecting 1% of the adult population and 3.6% of people over 65 years of age. Its occurrence imposes a substantial economic burden on health care: for example, 5 billion pounds in the United Kingdom, where there are approximately 2.2 million patients with wounds, which makes up 4.5% of the adult population(2)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
