La celulitis es una afección frecuente. El proyecto Global Burden of Disease estimó que en 2021 se produjeron 56 millones de casos de celulitis (678.4 por cada 100.000 habitantes), que causaron 28,900 muertes.[3]Institute For Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global health metrics: cellulitis - level 4 cause. 2021 [internet publication].
https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/diseases-injuries-risks/factsheets/2021-cellulitis-level-4-disease
El sexo no afecta a la tasa, pero el aumento de la edad se asocia a una mayor incidencia.[3]Institute For Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global health metrics: cellulitis - level 4 cause. 2021 [internet publication].
https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/diseases-injuries-risks/factsheets/2021-cellulitis-level-4-disease
[4]McNamara DR, Tleyjeh IM, Berbari EF, et al. Incidence of lower-extremity cellulitis: a population-based study in Olmsted county, Minnesota. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007 Jul;82(7):817-21.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17605961?tool=bestpractice.com
En un estudio realizado en un periodo de 12 meses entre 2014 y 2015, la tasa de ingreso hospitalario por celulitis fue de 1100 por 100,000 en personas de 80 años o más, frente a 237 episodios por 100,000 en la población general.[5]Kumar M, Jong Ngian VJ, Yeong C, et al. Cellulitis in older people over 75 years - are there differences? Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2020 Jan;49:37-40.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2049080119301803?via%3Dihub
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31867103?tool=bestpractice.com
Los ingresos por celulitis alcanzan sistemáticamente su punto máximo en los meses de verano, observándose esta estacionalidad en varios países.[6]Peterson RA, Polgreen LA, Cavanaugh JE, et al. Increasing incidence, cost, and seasonality in patients hospitalized for cellulitis. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017 Winter;4(1):ofx008.
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/4/1/ofx008/2978056
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28480281?tool=bestpractice.com
[7]Hsu RJ, Chou CC, Liu JM, et al. The association of cellulitis incidence and meteorological factors in Taiwan. Epidemiol Infect. 2019 Jan;147:e138.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/association-of-cellulitis-incidence-and-meteorological-factors-in-taiwan/1F6217953A0A5052F8AC4FFA1D9C4782
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30869041?tool=bestpractice.com
[8]Manning L, Cannon J, Dyer J, et al. Seasonal and regional patterns of lower leg cellulitis in Western Australia. Intern Med J. 2019 Feb;49(2):212-216.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29984905?tool=bestpractice.com
Desde principios de la década de 2000 se ha producido un aumento de las visitas por infección cutánea con SARM asociado a la comunidad; sin embargo, un análisis posterior concluyó que esto se debía sobre todo a abscesos y no a celulitis.[9]Kaye KS, Petty LA, Shorr AF, et al. Current epidemiology, etiology, and burden of acute skin infections in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Apr 8;68(suppl 3):S193-9.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/68/Supplement_3/S193/5428806
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30957165?tool=bestpractice.com
[10]Pallin DJ, Egan DJ, Pelletier AJ, et al. Increased US emergency department visits for skin and soft tissue infections, and changes in antibiotic choices, during the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Ann Emerg Med. 2008 Mar;51(3):291-8.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18222564?tool=bestpractice.com
[11]Qualls ML, Mooney MM, Camargo CA Jr, et al. Emergency department visit rates for abscess versus other skin infections during the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 1997-2007. Clin Infect Dis. 2012 Jul;55(1):103-5.
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/1/103.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22460965?tool=bestpractice.com