Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2002
Fusidic acid cream in the treatment of impetigo in general practice: double blind randomised placebo controlled trial.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for bacterial folliculitis and boils (furuncles and carbuncles).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Interventions for impetigo.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of treatments for impetigo.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2003Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Ozenoxacin Cream for Treatment of Adult and Pediatric Patients With Impetigo: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA dermatology · 2018Trial
- Severity of nonbullous Staphylococcus aureus impetigo in children is associated with strains harboring genetic markers for exfoliative toxin B, Panton-Valentine leukocidin, and the multidrug resistance plasmid pSK41.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2003Trial
- Meta-Research Study on the Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials Evaluating Drug Therapy for Impetigo.Dermatology practical & conceptual · 2025Review
- Prevalence and Socio-Demographic and Hygiene Factors Influencing Impetigo in Saudi Arabian Children: A Cross-Sectional Investigation.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2024Article
- Human organoid biofilm model for assessing antibiofilm activity of novel agents.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2021Article
- Current and Emerging Topical Antibacterials and Antiseptics: Agents, Action, and Resistance Patterns.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2017Review
- Modelling of the outcome of non-inferiority trials by integration of historical data.Journal of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics · 2011Article
- Staphylococcus aureus carriage among GPs in The Netherlands.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2010Article
- [Pediatric dermatology. New aspects of bacterial skin infections in children].Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete · 2009Article
- A retrospective study of some clinical and epidemiological features of impetigo patients seen in dermatology clinic in the eastern province of saudi arabia.Journal of family & community medicine · 2006Article
- Clustering by health professional in individually randomised trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2005Review
- Staphylococcal skin infections in children: rational drug therapy recommendations.Paediatric drugs · 2005Review
- Natural population dynamics and expansion of pathogenic clones of Staphylococcus aureus.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2004Article
- Improving health care globally: a critical review of the necessity of family medicine research and recommendations to build research capacity.Annals of family medicine · 2004Article
- Research in family/general practice is essential for improving health globally.Annals of family medicine · 2004Article
- Fusidic acid resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.Archives of disease in childhood · 2004Review
- Fusidic acid cream for impetigo. Fusidic acid should be used with restraint.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2002Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo test the hypothesis that fusidic acid would not increase the treatment effect of disinfecting with povidone-iodine alone in children with impetigo.
designRandomised placebo controlled trial.
settingGeneral practices in Greater Rotterdam.
participants184 children aged 0-12 years with impetigo.
main outcome measuresClinical cure and bacterial cure after one week.
resultsAfter one week of treatment 55% of the patients in the fusidic acid group were clinically cured compared with 13% in the placebo group (odds ratio 12.6, 95% confidence interval 5.0 to 31.5, number needed to treat 2.3). After two weeks and four weeks the differences in cure rates between the two groups had become smaller. More children in the placebo group were non-compliant (12 v 5) and received extra antibiotic treatment (11 v 3), and more children in the placebo group reported adverse effects (19 v 7). Staphylococcus aureus was found in 96% of the positive cultures; no strains were resistant to fusidic acid.
conclusionsFusidic acid is much more effective than placebo (when both are given in combination with povidone-iodine shampoo) in the treatment of impetigo. Because of the low rate of cure and high rate of adverse events in the placebo group, the value of povidone-iodine in impetigo can be questioned.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.