Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infections: a critical appraisal of topical antiseptics

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is a serious complication of burns and wounds with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. This paper reviews the literature on the use of topical antiseptics for the treatment of P. aeruginosa wound infections. Methods: Embase and PubMed were searched, yielding 119 results that were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were all papers that assessed patients with confirmed P. aeruginosa wound infection treated with topical antiseptics and reported the eradication of the pathogen. Results: Three papers met the inclusion criteria, with a total sample size of 33. All of the studies analyzed acetic acid for the treatment of P. aeruginosa wound infection. The pooled data demonstrated that 84.8% of confirmed P. aeruginosa wound infections were effectively treated with acetic acid. Conclusions: P. aeruginosa remains a serious infection complicating burn and wound healing. Treatment commonly includes topical antiseptics; however, there is a paucity of clinical based trials to support this. Three small trials demonstrated some evidence for the use of acetic acid as a topical treatment. More evidence is required to demonstrate the efficacy of topical antiseptics as well as recommend specific types of topical treatment for this pathogen.