Bacteriological profile of burn wound infections and its antibiogram at a tertiary care center
Aishwarya Ashok Majge, Desma D’Souza, Mrudul Randive, Rucha Ingle, Dilip Turbadkar, Kanchan GaikwadIntroduction:
Burn injury causes damage to the skin, the largest human organ which acts as an immunological defense and a physical barrier against infection. Despite the advances in modern medicine, infections continue to be a major problem increasing mortality and morbidity following burn injury. The pattern of infection differs in every hospital and the bacterial flora of infected wound may change considerably during the healing period. With a high prevalence of infection and changing bacteriological profile of isolates, it is necessary to assess the bacterial pathogens in each burn center to prevent multidrug resistant organisms.
Materials and Methods:
Three hundred patients suffering from burn injuries were included over 18 months. Wound swabs were collected from the time of admission in Burns Unit every week till the final outcome. All the samples were subjected to Gram’s stain, inoculation on culture media, identification of bacterial growth by biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Results:
A total of 515 wound swabs were collected from 300 patients with burn injuries and admitted in burns unit. 83 out of 300 (27.66%) patients developed burn wound infection. The most commonly isolated organism was
Conclusions:
Burn wound infections are an important complication of burn injuries. This study has revealed the presence of multi-drug resistant strains of Gram-negative organisms especially