BACTERIAL ETIOLOGY AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE OF BURN WOUND INFECTIONS IN A BURN UNIT IN HEHIA GENERAL HOSPITAL IN EGYPT
This study aimed to investigate the etiologic agents of burn wound infections in a burn unit in Hehia General Hospital. 110 non-repetitive samples were taken during a three-month period. Isolation and identification of pathogens were done according to standard procedures. Polymicrobial infection was observed in 48 (46.36%) samples. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen isolated (33.6%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (23.36%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (18.6%), Proteus mirabilis (13.1%), Acinetobacter baumanii (10.3%). Antibiotic sensitivity was performed by the disc diffusion method. Vancomycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol and imipenem were the most effective antibiotics against Gram-positive bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria showed the highest sensitivity with imipenem and ciprofloxacin. Among Gram-positive bacteria, a significantly high resistance to gentamicin, ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, cefazolin, penicillin, cefotaxime and erythromycin. Moreover, high resistance was observed among Gram-negative bacilli against amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulinic acid, gentamicin, cefepime, cefoperazone, ceftriaxone, tobramycin and tetracycline. The most resistant Gram-negative pathogen was Acinetobacter baumanii, followed by Citrobacter Freundii, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp. and Proteus spp., while Enterobacter cloacae was the most sensitive pathogen. In summary, the high resistance of burn wound pathogens is an alarming trend that necessitates following a strict antibiotic policy to minimize resistance