Bacteriology of burns and antibiogram in an Iranian burn care center

Shahnaz Beheshti, Mohammadali Zia

Abstract

Burn patients face an obviously high risk for infections due to the immunocompromising effects of their injury. This study aimed to detect and identify bacteria isolated from patients and hospital environment in the burn unit and determine their antibiogram pattern in response to commonly used antimicrobial agents; in order to give recommendations for management of bacterial infections and drug-resistance. Materials of this study were 100 samples of burn wounds and multiple swab samples of different hospital environments. One hundred and twelve isolates were analyzed, from which there was a single agent in the majority of cases (73.3%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common isolate (32.2%), followed by Enterobacter spp. (16.9%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (12.5%), Acinetobacter spp. (11.7%), Klebsiella spp. (8.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.2%), -hemolytic streptococci (4.4%), and others (6.2%). The most commonly detected isolate from hospital environment was P. aeruginosa (35%) followed by Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., coagulase-negative staphylococci. P. aeruginosa was the most resistant to third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins (100%), whereas other gram-negative bacteria were resistant to ciprofloxacin and cephalosporin (70 to 100%). Restriction in the abuse of antibiotics and establishment of an infection control unit will help lower the incidence of infection.

Key words: Bacteriology, burn wounds, antibiogram, bacterial infections