Epidemiological and bacteriological profiles in children with burns.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of our study is to determine the most prevalent bacteria responsible for nosocomial infection (NI) in burned children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A prospective analytic study was conducted over a period of 30 months at the Children's Hospital of Tunisia. All burned children were enrolled.

RESULTS:

A total of 185 children were hospitalised during the study period. The mean age was 30 months (interquartile range, IR:18; 48). The gender ratio of the study population was 1.3 (104 males and 81 females). The mean total body surface area burned (TBSA) was 10% (IR:6; 16). The incidence rate of NI was 39.1 NIs per 1000 patient-days and two-thirds of the infections were polymicrobial. The most common isolated micro-organisms were methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA, 57.7%), wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa (35.9%) and wild-type Enterobacter cloacae (26.9%). The case fatality rate was 5.9% corresponding to a crude death rate of 1.32 deaths per year. Septic shock with multiple organ failure was the leading cause of death.

CONCLUSION:

The most common micro-organisms responsible for NI in our series were of the wild-type phenotype. Thus, on suspicion of sepsis, empiric antibiotic treatment combining piperacillin, oxacillin and gentamicin can be proposed until identification of the causative microorganism is available.

• Authors: Amjed Fekih Hassen, Sonia Ben Khalifa, Mayssa Daiki
• Journal: Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries (Burns) Vol. 40 Issue 5 Pg. 1040-5 (Aug 2014) ISSN: 1879-1409 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 24331406 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Gentamicins
• Oxacillin
• Piperacillin

Topics

• Anti-Bacterial Agents (therapeutic use)
• Burns (epidemiology)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Cohort Studies
• Cross Infection (drug therapy, epidemiology, microbiology)
• Drug Resistance, Bacterial
• Enterobacter cloacae
• Enterobacteriaceae Infections (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Female
• Gentamicins (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Male
• Oxacillin (therapeutic use)
• Piperacillin (therapeutic use)
• Prospective Studies
• Pseudomonas Infections (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Sepsis (drug therapy, epidemiology, microbiology)
• Staphylococcal Infections (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Wound Infection (drug therapy, epidemiology, microbiology)