蜂窝织炎是一种常见的病症;一个拥有约 2000 人的全科医疗机构每年会有约 30 例针对“蜂窝织炎和脓肿”的案例就诊。[1]McCormick A, Fleming D, Charlton J; Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Morbidity statistics from general practice: fourth national study 1991-1992. London: HMSO; 1995. 更多的人就诊于急诊部;在 2003 至 2004 年,英格兰的住院病例中约有 49,500 例为蜂窝织炎或丹毒 (0.4%)。[2]National Health Service. Hospital episode statistics 2003-04. December 2004 [internet publication].https://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB03884 根据 2005 年在美国社区医院中采集的数据,蜂窝织炎在出院成人的最常见主要诊断中排名第 27。 在荷兰进行的一项基于人群的研究发现,在 2001 年,约有 28,000 名患者患有腿部蜂窝织炎或丹毒。 在这些患者中,有 2200 人住院,每次住院的平均费用为 5346 欧元。 2001 年,这些住院费用累计超过了 1400 万欧元。[3]Goettsch WG, Bouwes Bavinck JN, Herings RM. Burden of illness of bacterial cellulitis and erysipelas of the leg in the Netherlands. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2006 Aug;20(7):834-9.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16898907?tool=bestpractice.com 就诊于急诊机构的患者中,男性数量超过女性,而下肢为主要受累部位。[4]Newell PM, Norden CW. Value of needle aspiration in bacteriologic diagnosis of cellulitis in adults. J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Mar;26(3):401-4.http://jcm.asm.org/cgi/reprint/26/3/401http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3356783?tool=bestpractice.com[5]Sigurdsson AF, Gudmundsson S. The etiology of bacterial cellulitis as determined by fine-needle aspiration. Scand J Infect Dis. 1989;21(5):537-42.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2587954?tool=bestpractice.com[6]Dong SL, Kelly KD, Oland RC, et al. ED management of cellulitis: a review of five urban centers. Am J Emerg Med. 2001 Nov;19(7):535-40.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11698996?tool=bestpractice.com 但某些类型的蜂窝织炎是女性特有的。[7]Simon MS, Cody RL. Cellulitis after axillary lymph node dissection for carcinoma of the breast. Am J Med. 1992 Nov;93(5):543-8.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1364813?tool=bestpractice.com[8]Dankert J, Bouma J. Recurrent acute leg cellulitis after hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1987 Aug;94(8):788-90.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3663535?tool=bestpractice.com 另一项对美国医院数据的研究显示,在社区相关耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌出现期间,因皮肤感染而就诊的人数有所增加;[9]Pallin DJ, Egan DJ, Pelletier AJ, et al. Increased US emergency department visits for skin and soft tissue infections, and changes in antibiotic choices, during the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Ann Emerg Med. 2008 Mar;51(3):291-8.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18222564?tool=bestpractice.com 然而,进一步的分析发现这主要是由于脓肿而非蜂窝织炎造成的。[10]Qualls ML, Mooney MM, Camargo CA Jr, et al. Emergency department visit rates for abscess versus other skin infections during the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 1997-2007. Clin Infect Dis. 2012 Jul;55(1):103-5.http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/1/103.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22460965?tool=bestpractice.com