RESUMEN
A prospective study of bacterial wound colonization in 51 burn patients with chronic wounds of more than 3 weeks duration was carried out over a period of one year (2004) with an objective of determining microbial profile and antibiotic sensitivity patterns. A total of 178 surface swabs were taken, out of which 110 microbial isolates were cultured which included 104 solitary and 3 twin isolates. The most frequent isolate was coagulase negative Staph. epidermidis (56.36%) followed by Pseudomonas (18.18%) and Staph. aureus (13.63%). There was a high degree of resistance by these organisms to commonly available antibiotics. The most sensitive antibiotics in our setup were Gatifloxacin and Amikacin irrespective of the organisms cultured and should be used empirically pending reports of culture and sensitivity if systemic antibiotics need to be started. Restriction in the misuse of antibiotics on empirical basis, establishment of proper infection control measures and supportive measures like psychological support, physiotherapy and protein rich diet will help lower the incidence of infection.
RESUMEN
Developing countries have a high incidence of burn injuries making them an endemic health hazard. High population density, illiteracy and poverty are the main demographic factors associated with high risk of burn injuries. Total of 150 patients were enrolled in our one-year prospective study. Young adults with preponderance of female sex constituted main age group in our study series. Thermal injuries were seen in 90.6% of patients and kitchen was the predominant place of accident. 29.5% of patients had burns involving more than 80% of total body surface area. 53.4% of mortality was seen in our study cases.