Bacterial etiology and their antibiogram in burn wound infections at Kalaburgi region (India)

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the common aetiological agents and their antibiotic resistivity pattern in burn wound infections in this geographical area. Methods : Swabs from the burn wounds were collected on random basis using sterile cotton swabs from the patients admitted to Burn ward of Government Hospital, Gulbarga, Karnataka (South India) during 2012-13. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method according to M02-A11 and M100 -S22 Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) January 2012 guidelines and procedures on Mueller-Hinton agar. Results: A total 91 swabs from burns wound infection were collected from the patients of Burn Ward, out of which 83 were positive. Pseudomonas sps (33.73%) and S. aureus (27.71%) accounted for 61.44% of the positive cases as single aetiological agents. Klebsiella sps and E. coli accounted for 22.88% of the cases. The remaining 15.65% of cases had mixed aetiological agents. The results revealed the dominance of Gram negative organisms. It is significant to note that 64.52% and 24.19% of Gram negative bacterial isolates (62) were ESBL and MBL producers respectively indicating the base for the emergence of drug resistance. S. aureus was isolated from 23 positive cases as a single aetiological agent (27.71%) while it accounted for 11 (13.24%) cases with other co-pathogens. In the present study 67.65% (23 out of 34) Staphylococcus aureus isolates were Methicillin-resistant. Conclusions: The present study has revealed the emergence of MDR strains of Gram negative bacilli especially Pseudomonas sps and S. aureus as the predominant aetiological agents in burn wound infections in the hospital environment.