Microbiological Profile of Chronic Burn Wounds among Patients Admitted in Burn Unit.

ABSTRACT

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.