Objective: To evaluate effectivity, safety and patients' adherence to benzathine penicillin G (BPG) 1,200,000 units (1.2 MU) once-every-3-week intramuscularly prophylaxis for recurrent erysipelas.
Methods: Patients with documented two or more erysipelas episodes in last two years who received at least one of 10 planned doses of BPG 1.2 MU intramuscularly between January 2009 and December 2015 were analyzed in this retrospective study. Number of recurrences during the 30-week prophylaxis and in the 30-week follow-up period, frequency of adverse events, patients' adherence to the treatment and factors associated with the recurrence were analyzed.
Results: From 132 patients, 109 (82.6%) finished the 30-week prophylactic regimen successfully. The incidence of erysipelas was 8 per 100 patient-years during the prophylactic period and 28 per 100 patient-years in the follow-up period (incidence rate ratio = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.05-0.34; p < .01). In univariate analysis recurrence was significantly associated only with presence of any local risk factor concurrently with obesity (OR 3.40; 95% CI: 1.10-10.50; p < .05).
Conclusion: Benzathine penicillin G 1.2 MU once every 3 weeks is an effective and well-tolerated prophylaxis of recurrent erysipelas with good patient adherence to the treatment. Further studies to determine the appropriate duration of prophylaxis are necessary.
Keywords: Erysipelas; penicillin; prophylaxis; recurrence.