The Effect of Histopathologic Analysis and Tissue Cultures on Inpatient Management of Cellulitis and Pseudocellulitis

The Investigators wish to study the value of dermatologic testing assessments in differentiating between cellulitis and pseudocellulitis in the inpatient setting. The Investigators propose that by utilizing cutaneous biopsies and tissue cultures in patients that have been admitted to inpatient internal medicine teams, the investigators may be able to improve multiple measures of hospital efficiency in patients presenting with cellulitis-like symptoms, by more accurately recognizing cellulitis from pseudocellulitis. The patient will undergo encrypted digital imaging for his or her condition. This image will then be sent to the study investigators, along with basic clinical information on the skin evaluation form. The study investigators will develop a differential diagnosis and then the patient will undergo a skin biopsy. The patient will then be randomized to one of two arms using a random number generator: A) Skin biopsies and tissue cultures recorded and published in patient's medical chart as they would be in a standard of care procedure B) Skin biopsies and tissue cultures consultation performed but not published in the patient's medical chart unless medically necessary. Information will be collected from medical records in IHIS. Patients will be contacted by phone 30 days after discharge.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cellulitis; Pseudocellulitis
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Punch Biopsy

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 56

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Gahanna, Ohio, United States, 43230
      • The Ohio State University Dermatology

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patient's ages 18 to 99 years that present in the ED with pseudocellulitis or cellulitis.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• admitted inpatient to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Internal Medicine ward with cellulitis-like symptoms, including but not limited to the following: tenderness, redness, swelling, expansive lesion.
• Affecting one or more extremities
• are at least 90 days post any associated operation of the extremity
• are above the age of 18
• Participants will be patients with cellulitis or pseudocellulitis.
• Patients who have recurrent cellulitis will be eligible for enrollment into the study, but only once.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are pregnant
• Prisoners
• Patients may not have trauma, ulcer, or puncture wound to the area
• May not be transferred from another hospital
• May not be admitted to the Cancer Hospital or with a known active solid organ or hematologic cancer other than nonmelanoma skin cancer

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The feasibility of conducting a larger study will be conducted, by establishing patient enrollment rates	According to the NIH: The goal of pilot work is not to test hypotheses about the effects of an intervention, but rather, to assess the feasibility/acceptability of an approach to be used in a larger scale study. We will use descriptive statistics to monitor patient enrollment and pilot data on additional secondary outcomes for inferential statistics.	At study completion, around 2 years after study start

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in antibiotic use (antibiotics/day administered) over the course of the hospitalizations	Cellulitis is a common type of bacterial skin infection. Pseudocellulitis is a skin infection that is very similar to cellulitis and is often misdiagnosed as cellulitis	1 year
The rate of participant readmission within 30 days	The investigators will examine 30 day readmission rates between standard care and interventional care	1 year
Length of hospitalization as measured in days	The investigators will examine hospital length-of-stay in patients randomized to interventional vs standard care	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ohio State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Benhamin Kaffenberger, MD, Ohio State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 25, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 5, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 21, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): December 24, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Connective Tissue Diseases; Infections; Inflammation; Skin Diseases, Infectious; Suppuration; Cellulitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2018H0147

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No