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]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [2]

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

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	Osteomyelitis, psoas abscess, severe burns
Neurologic	Brain abscess, cerebral abscess, epidural abscess, intracranial abscess, intraspinal abscess, Kramer syndrome, nevus comedonicus syndrome, spinal abscess
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	Bartholin's abscess, pelvic abscess, salpingitis, tubo-ovarian abscess, vulvar abscess
Oncologic	Cancer, cervical lymphadenitis, leukemia
Opthalmologic	Orbital cellulitis
Overdose / Toxicity	Alcoholism, IV drug abuse
Psychiatric	IV drug abuse
Pulmonary	Lung abscess, mycobacterium tuberculosis, pulmonary abscess
Renal / Electrolyte	Kidney abscess, perinephric abscess
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Insect bite
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Severe trauma, Severe burns, Wound infection
Urologic	Acute bacterial prostatitis, kidney abscess, prostatic tuberculosis
Miscellaneous	Alcoholism, breast abscess

Causes in Alphabetical Order

References

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