The Clinical Study of Patients with Cellulitis in the ROK Army

Seo, Koo Il; Cho, Kwang Hyun; Kim, Kea Jeung; Eun, Hee Chul

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cellulitis is one of the most common infectious skin diseases in primary care units of military service in which personal hygiene could be easily neglected under special circumstances such as outdoor training.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to elucidate the probable causes of the high incidence rate of cellulitis in military service.
METHODS
We prospectively evaluated the clinical findings of 59 patients with cellulitis who were hospitalized in the medical detachment of the 1st Infantry Division of the ROK Army from May, 1995 to April, 1996.
RESULTS
The mean age of patients was 21(19-25). Analysing the rank of the patients, the number of recruits was 3(5%), private 26(44%), private first class 17(29%), corporal 11(19%) and sergeant 2(3%). Seventy eight percent of them were included in ranks below corporal. The recurrence rate of cellulitis during the 2 1/2 year follow-up period was only 4%. Skin lesions noted were erythema(100%), tenderness(98%), swelling(98%), local heating(97%), lymphadenopathy(73%), pus (63%), fluctuation(32%), ulcer(27%), lymphangitis(14%), bullae(8%), etc. The most common route of infection was the previous wounds(46%) which allows a portal for invasion of microorganisms. Tinea pedis was also found to be in 39% of patients with cellulitis of the lower leg. The pus culture performed on 7 patients who had not been responsive to primary antibiotics resulted in 6 positive cases of Staphylococcus aureus.
CONCLUSION
Considering the ranks of the patients and the routes of infection, we found that the incidence of cellulitis in the military service of the ROK Army could be reduced if more attention would be paid to preventive counterplans for secondary infection and tinea pedis.