Bacteriological and Mycological Profile of Burn Wound Infection in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Katihar, Bihar

Abstract

BACKGROUNDInjuries secondary to severe burns rank among the most serious forms of trauma resulting in anatomic, physiologic, endocrinologic and immunologic stress, especially when burns involve more than 20% of Total Body Surface Area (TBSA). In patients surviving the initial burn and resuscitative phase, infections are a leading cause of mortality. The burnt surface is sterile immediately following thermal injury but after 48 hours the wound is colonised with skin pathogens that typically reside in sweat glands and hair follicles before the burn. After 5 to 7 days, wounds become colonised with yeast and/or Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms from the host's intestinal and upper respiratory tracts, or from the hospital environment and health care workers' hands.