Pustular impetigo with good response to clarithromycin.

Impetigo is a contagious superficial pyogenic infection of the skin caused by Staphylococcus aureus and/or by group A Streptococcus. Two main clinical forms are recognized: bullous impetigo and non-bullous impetigo. We present an unusual case of pustular impetigo in a 35-year-old man. The pustules were localized symmetrically in the groin and the patient was successfully treated with clarithromycin. In bullous impetigo, exfoliative toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus are accepted as the basis for the bulla formation just below the stratum granulosum. Although clarithromycin is considered to be a second-choice therapy for bullous impetigo, it was highly effective in our case.