Bacteriological profile of patients and environmental samples in burn intensive care unit: A pilot study from a tertiary care hospital

Objective: Prevention of nosocomial infection in burn patient is a major challenge. Endogenous flora or the colonizers of the surrounding environment are the main source of infection in this group of patients. Continuous monitoring of infection in burn patients is necessary to evaluate the source and pattern of distribution of microorganisms. The study was planned to assess the bacteriological and antimicrobial resistance profiles of burn patients in our intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and Methods: Wound swabs from 100 consecutive burn patients were collected on days 1, 4 and 7 of admission to the burn ICU. Environmental samples were also collected from the surroundings of burn ICU and studied for the bacteriological and anti-microgram profiles. Results: Acinetobacter baumanni , Pseudomonas aeruginosa remained the major isolates from the wound swabs. Acinetobacter baumanni and Staphylococcus aureus found to be the common isolates from the environmental samples. In both the instances the strains were found to be multidrug resistant (MDR) type. Majority of the environmental colonizers were isolated from sink, bed cradle and patient's bed. Conclusion: In this study, colonizers of the environment appeared to play a major role in causation of nosocomial infection in burn patients. Hence, periodic monitoring and assessment should be done to strengthen the infection control practices in burn unit.