English

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in burn patients, in spite of considerable advances in burn wound care and medical treatment. Burn wound infections are largely nosocomial in origin, incidence and isolation differ from hospital to hospital, study of isolates and their antibiogram is necessary to provide adequate and effective treatment that will reduce morbidity and mortality of patients. OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to know the aerobic bacteriological profile of burn wound infection and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A total of 209 specimens were received from burn patients between January to July 2012. Wound swabs were taken with aseptic precautions by disposable sterile swabs. These swabs were transported to central laboratory where they were cultured on blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated aerobically overnight at 37 0 C. Isolates were identified based on standard microbiological methods and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method. RESULT: A total of 147 bacterial pathogens were isolated from 209 samples. The most frequent cause of infection was found to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa (48.3%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (19.29%), Escherichia coli (13.26%), Klebsiella spp. (8.44%), Proteus spp. (3.7%), Enterococcus spp.(6 %) & Citrobacter spp. (1%). High level of drug resistance was observed for Cefotaxime, Ceftazidime and Cotrimoxazole among gram negative pathogens. Imipenem, Piperacillin/Tazobactam, Amikacin and Ciprofloxacin were found to be most effective. Twenty two percent of the Staphylococcus aureus isolates were methicillin resistant but none was resistant to Vancomycin & Linezolid. CONCLUSION: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of infection in burn wounds which showed high level resistance to antimicrobials. The high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance emphasizes the need for strengthening the infection control practices and regular and periodical surveillance activities to contain the upward trend of resistance. Isolation pattern and antibiogram