Evaluation of Microbiological Spectrum of Burn Wound Infections

Abstract

Burn patients have a high risk of local and systemic infections. Burn wound infections can be one of the serious complications of thermal injury that influence the patient's prognostic. The study group has included the bacterial strains isolated from the infected wounds of burn patients hospitalized in the Clinical County Emergency Hospital of Brasov during a two-year period. Most patients were adults and from urban areas. Men have been slightly higher in frequency. The apparition of the wound's infection could not be correlated with the grade, the extension on the skin surface, or the mechanism of thermal injury. Wound infections were more frequent in burn patients who were hospitalized for more than 10 days. The percentage of the positive cultures was very high (86,2%). The etiological spectrum of the burn wound infections was dominated by Gram-positive cocci (65%). Of gram-negative bacilli, the most commonly isolated was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, followed by species of Acinetobacter and different species of Enterobacteriaceae. The relatively high percentage of multiresistant bacterial strains (MRSA, ESBL-producing strains) emphasizes the importance of performing sensitivity testing in burn patients.