Bacterial pathogens causing skin and soft tissue infections and antibiotic susceptibility in South Asia: a scoping review protocol.

Background: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) have become a global public health threat especially in the Indian context. Secondary complications from untreated skin lesions make the patient life miserable and result in serious adverse effects. The main purpose of this scoping review is to identify the common bacterial pathogens causing SSTIs in South Asia.

Methods: This scoping review adheres to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines. The search strategy and screening follow the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) checklist, and the review will be reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The initial search set will follow the keyword such as "bacteria", "microbial susceptibility", and "South Asia". Based on the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature search will be carried out at the Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science databases, relevant regional databases, and other grey literature will also be searched to cover maximum information. The data extraction and synthesis will be carried out by the researchers independently and the results will be summarised narratively.

Discussion: The present scoping review seeks to address this gap by synthesizing evidence on the common bacterial pathogens causing SSTIs in children and adults across South Asia and their antibiotic susceptibility profiles. By contextualizing these findings, the review aims to inform region-specific empirical guidelines, ultimately enhancing clinical decision-making and improving patient outcomes in managing SSTIs in South Asia. In summary, the insights of this review are not only critical for improving clinical outcomes but also hold considerable public health significance by informing antimicrobial stewardship strategies and guiding policy efforts to address the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance in the region.

Scoping review registration: This research has been registered in the Open Science Framework (OSF) ( https://osf.io/xve49 ).