by Michael R. Wessels, M.D.
NEJM March 19, 2015
"Since the mid-1990s, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become the predominant pathogen responsible for suppurative skin infections (i.e., furuncles, carbuncles, and skin abscesses) in the United States and in many other countries. Emergency department visits for skin abscesses have increased during this period, as MRSA has become endemic in the community, but a similar increase in visits for cellulitis (i.e., infectious inflammation of the skin without a drainable collection of pus) has not occurred." Download Choosing an Antibiotic for Skin Infections - NEJMe1500331
This article indicates that clindamycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethosaxzole (TMX-SMX), or a first generation cephalosporin (cephalexin or cefadroxil) are all equally effective for cutaneous abscesses that warrant an antibiotic.
[In the NEJM article this editorial addressed, clindamycin was given as two 150-mg tablets three times daily and TMP-SMX was given at doses of 160 mg of trimethoprim and 800 mg of sulfa-methoxazole administered as two single-strength tablets twice daily.]