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Are abscesses, carbuncles, and furuncles coded together with cellulitis?
1) Yes
2) No

1 Answer

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Final answer:

No, abscesses, carbuncles, and furuncles are not coded together with cellulitis as they have different characteristics, depths of infection, and causative agents, typically leading to separate clinical diagnosis and coding for accurate treatment and tracking.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, abscesses, carbuncles, and furuncles are not typically coded together with cellulitis. While they all represent bacterial infections of the skin, they exhibit different characteristics, depths of infection, and often have different causative agents involved. For example, furuncles and carbuncles are often associated with Staphylococcus bacteria and involve deeper layers of the skin, S. aureus being a common causative agent. In contrast, cellulitis affects the dermis and sometimes the hypodermis with Streptococcus bacteria as the usual suspect, particularly S. pyogenes. This differentiation in causative agents and the specific type of skin involvement usually leads to these conditions being coded separately to reflect their distinct clinical diagnosis. Each type of infection has its own set of symptoms and treatment protocols, therefore accurate coding is crucial for proper treatment and tracking.

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