Bacteriological profiles in burn patients within first twenty-four hours of injury

Abstract

Background: Infection and sepsis are the main confounders of mortality and morbidity of burn injury. Burn wound surface thought to be sterile for few hours immediately after injury. Eventually microorganisms from skin surface area or hospital environment colonize the wound. The aim of this study is to observe the bacteria profile (i.e. form the first day of burn) and their subsequent changes. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients attending Burn emergency care Department with history of burn injury within 24hours was enrolled in this study. To observe the microbial profile at the site, three swabs (1ston 0 day i.e. the day of admission, 2nd after 24-48hours, and 3rd after 72-96 hours) were collected from the burn wound. Once collected, they were immediately transferred to a sterile test tube and transported to the Department of Microbiology for further processing and identification of bacterial flora. Results: Eighty percent of samples collected on day 0 were observed sterile. Staphylococcus aureus found to be commonest isolate among the isolates in the day 0 in comparison to gram-negative bacteria in 2nd and 3rd sample. Discussion and conclusion: Burn wound remains sterile for first few hours after injury. It subsequently colonized with the multidrug resistant microorganisms transmitted from the hospital environment or from the hospitalized patients in the same set up. Prompt effective treatment and regular hospital surveillance is necessary to reduce the infection of burn wound. Key words: Burn wound, Sterile, Bacterial flora