Emergence of multi-drug resistant strains among bacterial isolates in burn wound swabs in a tertiary care centre, Nanded, Maharashtra, India

Background: Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among burn patients. The worldwide emergence of antimicrobial resistance among a wide variety of burn wound pathogens, particularly nosocomial isolates, limits the available therapeutic options for effective treatment of burn wound infections. The study was conducted in the department of Microbiology, Dr. S.C.G.M.C, Nanded, Maharashtra, India to determine aerobic bacterial isolates from burn wound swabs and describe their antibiogram. Methods: Two wound swabs were taken from 570 patients, cultured aerobically. The isolates were identified by standard microbiological methods and antibiotic sensitivity pattern was determined. Results: Among 570 patients, 434 (76.14%) were female and 136 (23.85%) were male. Out of the total swabs collected, 548 (96.14%) were culture positive and 36 (6.56%) were having 2 isolates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (34.93%) was the commonest isolate followed by Staphylococcus aureus (22.77%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.87%), Escherichia coli (13.01%) and Coagulase negative staphylococcus (11.31%). Incidence of MRSA was 59.39% and ESBL producers were 61.46 %. Gram positive isolates were 100% sensitive to Vancomycin, Linezolid and Gram negative organisms to Imipenem. Conclusions: Routine periodic sampling of burn wounds would facilitate the selection of appropriate empirical therapy and reduce the incidence of multidrug resistant infections among burn patients.