The Impact of the Auckland Cellulitis Pathway on Length of Hospital Stay, Mortality Readmission Rate, and Antibiotic Stewardship

Abstract Background The Dundee classification of cellulitis severity, previously shown to predict disease outcomes, provides an opportunity to improve the management of patients with cellulitis. Methods We developed and implemented a pathway to guide the management of adults with cellulitis based on their Dundee severity class, and measured its effect on patient outcomes. We compared the outcomes in patients admitted to Auckland City Hospital (ACH) between July 2014 and July 2015 (the baseline cohort) with those in patients admitted between June 2017 and June 2018 (the intervention cohort). Results The median length of stay was shorter in the intervention cohort (0.7 days, interquartile range (IQR) 0.1 to 3.0 days) than in the baseline cohort (1.8 days, IQR 0.1 to 4.4 days; P