Cutaneous abscess causes

Abscess Main page
Patient Information
Overview
Causes
Classification Anal Abscess Appendicular Abscess Brain Abscess Breast Abscess Colon Abscess Cutaneous Abscess Liver Abscess Lung Abscess Pancreatic Abscess Retropharyngeal Abscess Splenic Abscess Tonsillar and Peritonsillar Abscess
Differential Diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Abscesses occur when an area of tissue becomes infected and the body's immune system tries to fight it. White blood cells move through the walls of the blood vessels into the area of the infection and collect within the damaged tissue. During this process, pus forms. Pus is the buildup of fluid, living and dead white blood cells, dead tissue, and bacteria or other foreign substances. Abscesses can form in almost any part of the body. The skin, under the skin, and the teeth are the most common sites. Abscesses may be caused by bacteria, parasites, and foreign substances.Abscesses in the skin are easy to see. They are red, raised, and painful. Abscesses in other areas of the body may not be obvious, but they may cause significant organ damage.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

Common Causes

• Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus
• Staphylococcus aureus

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Infective endocarditis, myocardial abscess, peripheral vascular disorders
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	Dental abscess, dental caries, sialadenitis, tooth abscess, xanthogranulomatous sialadenitis
Dermatologic	Boils, cervical lymphadenitis, finger pulp abscess, folliculitis, insect bite, Kramer syndrome, nevus comedonicus syndrome, nevus comedonicus, sebaceous cyst, skin abscess, subcutaneous abscess
Drug Side Effect	Artemether and lumefantrin, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, chemotherapy, chronic steroid therapy, dexamethasone, panitumumab, pergolide, prednisolone, tiagabine
Ear Nose Throat	Deep neck space infections, peritonsillar abscess, retropharyngeal abscess
Endocrine	Diabetes mellitus
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	Abdominal abscess, amebic liver abscess, anal abscess, anorectal abscess, bacterial appendicitis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, Crohn's disease, diverticular disease, diverticulitis, hepatic abscess, liver abscess, parasitic appendicitis, perianal abscess, pyogenic liver abscess, rectal abscess, sigmoid diverticulitis, subdiaphragmatic abscess, subphrenic abscess, ulcerative colitis
Genetic	Kramer syndrome, sickle cell disease
Hematologic	Leukemia, sickle cell disease
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Actinomycosis, acute bacterial prostatitis, amebic liver abscess, anaerobes, bacteremia, bacterial appendicitis, bacterial infection, Bartholin's abscess, blastomycosis, boils, brain abscess, breast abscess, cerebral abscess, cervical lymphadenitis, chancroid, cutaneous abscess, deep neck space infections, dental abscess, dental caries, dracunculiasis, epidural abscess, finger pulp abscess, flavimonas oryzihabitans, gnathostoma infection, gram-negative bacilli, hepatic abscess, HIV/AIDS, infective endocarditis, intracranial abscess, intraspinal abscess, kidney abscess, klebsiella pneumoniae, loiasis, lung abscess, melioidosis, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, mycobacterium abscessus, mycobacterium haemophilum, mycobacterium tuberculosis, myiasis, myocardial abscess, nocardiosis, orbital cellulitis, osteomyelitis, parasitic appendicitis, pelvic abscess, perianal abscess, perinephric abscess, peritonsillar abscess, prostatic tuberculosis, psoas abscess, pulmonary abscess, pyogenic liver abscess, rectal abscess, retropharyngeal abscess, salpingitis, sepsis, septicemia, skin abscess, spinal abscess, staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, streptococcus pyogenes, subcutaneous abscess, subdiaphragmatic abscess, subphrenic abscess, the clap, tooth abscess, tubo-ovarian abscess, vulvar abscess, wound infection
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	No underlying causes
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	No underlying causes

Causes in Alphabetical Order

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