Is There A New Treatment for Impetigo?

Impetigo, a common skin infection seen in daycares and schools across the world, is highly contagious and can have effects as mild as a few missed days of school to more serious complications such as rheumatic heart disease. Because the infection is so common it is often treated without a confirming culture, and there is some concern about resistance to frequently used first line topical antibiotics.

A recent clinical trial looked at treatment with ozenoxacin – a potent topical antibiotic with negligible systemic absorption and promising results against methicillin-, mupirocin-, and ciprofloxacin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This randomized clinical trial compared ozenoxacin cream 1% with placebo in patients with a clinical diagnosis of impetigo.

The results demonstrated that ozenoxacin has a superior clinical and microbiological response compared with a placebo after 5 days of therapy. These success rates were present whether or not drug-resistant strains of bacteria were found in skin cultures.

The authors conclude that based on data from this study and a previous trial, ozenoxacin is a rapid, effective new treatment for impetigo. In addition, they note that ozenoxacin’s expanded spectrum against drug-resistant organisms is clinically relevant since most clinicians treat the infection empirically.