Assessment of burn wound sepsis by swab, full thickness biopsy culture and blood culture--a comparative study

Fifty patients with burns ranging from 30 to 50 per cent of their body surface area were monitored for sepsis throughout their hospital stay using swab, blood and full thickness biopsy culture techniques. The relative merits of these techniques in the diagnosis of burn wound sepsis were evaluated. Only 62.5 per cent of the patients with a positive surface culture showed signs of clinical sepsis, while 87.5 per cent of the patients with significant bacterial count on biopsy culture showed signs of clinical sepsis. A decrease in bacterial count on follow up correlated with clinical improvement while a count of 10(8) orgs/gm indicated a bad prognosis. Wound surface cultures, though the simplest method gave poor indication of the organisms invading into the burn wound. Blood cultures were of only prognostic value. Full thickness biopsy culture and quantification of the number of bacteria in the burn wound was felt to be the best method for rapid diagnosis and for assessing the progress of burn wound infection.     

Actual problems of immunoprophylactic and immunotherapy of burn infection

Staphylococcal anatoxin which has a systemic therapeutic effect, improving burn wound condition and increasing humoral and cellular immunity was used for the prevention of staphylococcal infection among patients with deep burns of up to 15 per cent of body surface area as a component of their therapy. The patients with burns of over 15 per cent of their body surface were treated with hyperimmune antistaphylococcal plasma which had a clinical effect and decreased mortality in the group of severely burned patients by more than two fold. On our model of general wound infection from 5 most frequently observed serotypes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa we have got multicomponent cellfree vaccine pyoimmunogen with marked protective effect in experiments. This vaccine protected 80–85 per cent of animals in comparison with 90–95 per cent mortality in experiment. Preliminary clinical data speak for the high preventive and medical effect of pyoimmunogen and anti-Ps. aeruginosa hyperimmune plasma.     

Fungal infection in burn patients: Results of using 5-fluorocytosine (flucytosine)

Fungal infection and use of 5-fluorocytosine were studied prospectively among burn patients receiving multiple antibiotics. From 22 out of 23 patients positive cultures for Candida were obtained. Cultures from the mouth and rectum became positive first. Averaging 6 days later, 16 patients had positive urine cultures. Candida in urine was the best way to detect systemic candidiasis.Nine patients received 5-fluorocytosine. Although this drug did not influence survival among patients with burns of less than 59 per cent of body surface area, it prevented death from disseminated Candida infection among patients with burns of greater than 60 per cent body surface area.Patients with large surface burns receiving multiple antibiotics should have prophylaxis against fungi. If Candida is detected in urine, systemic treatment should be given. 5-Fluorocytosine is a safe and effective systemic drug for this purpose.     

A policy of early excision and grafting in elderly burn patients shortens the hospital stay and improves survival

Early excision and grafting of the burn wound appears to shorten the hospital stay and decrease mortality in children and adults. However, whether an early surgical approach is safe in elderly burn patients has not been resolved. To answer this question we carried out a prospective study of early surgery in 114 consecutive patients over the age of 50 years. Patients were generally operated on between post-burn days 2 and 5. The mean age of the patients was 68 years, with a burn size of 22 per cent, of which 13 per cent was full thickness skin loss. The mean hospital stay of the surviving patients was reduced by 40 per cent compared to national averages (P less than 0.001). The mortality rate for the entire group of patients was 17 per cent, with 2 deaths in the 65 patients with burns less than 20 per cent total body surface area (TBSA). Although the mortality rate for patients with burns greater than 20 per cent TBSA was 35 per cent, this was less than predicted (P less than 0.05). The improvement in survival appeared to be due to a decrease in the incidence of lethal burn wound infections.     

Bacterial flora of burn wounds in Lagos, Nigeria: A prospective study

A prospective study of burn wound sepsis was carried out on 31 consecutive patients with fresh burns. Wound swab cultures were assessed at weekly intervals for 5 weeks. The study revealed that while 96.7 per cent of burn wounds were sterile on admission, bacterial colonization reached 80.6 per cent within the first week after admission. Although the Gram-negative organisms, as a group, were more predominant, Staph. aureus (38.2 per cent) was the most prevalent organism in the first week. It was however surpassed by Pseud. aeruginosa from the second week onwards. Anaerobes were conspicuous by their absence. Similarly, β-haemolytic streptococcus was not isolated from any patient. Proteus mirabilis was unusually preponderant, forming 19.4 per cent of all isolates. The antibiotic senstivity pattern showed resistance of most of the organisms to ampicillin. Only 15 per cent of staphylococci were sensitive to cloxacillin. Most of the organisms cultured (93.5 per cent) were sensitive to ceftazidime.     

Neutrophil leucocyte functions and wound bacteria in burn patients

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) functions were studied in 16 adult burn patients twice a week, usually during the first three weeks post burn. Bactericidal capacity was impaired in 12 of the 16 patients. Chemotaxis was decreased in 7 of the 9 patients with burns of more than 30 per cent but increased in 5 of the 7 patients with smaller burns. Random migration was decreased in 12 of the 16 patients. The maximum disturbances in PMN functions occurred in the second week post burn and coincided with the maximum bacterial growth on the burn wounds.     

An analysis of burn mortality: a report from a Spanish regional burn centre

This paper reports an analysis of the mortality rates and related factors in our Burn Centre, based on 710 patients treated between 1985 and 1988. The average age of the patients was 23.8 years and the average burn size was 14 per cent of the body surface area. Burning injury affected mainly men (66 per cent), and their mortality rate was higher than that of women. The overall mortality rate was 6.6 per cent, the average age of the fatally injured patients being 54 years. We confirm that mortality in burned patients is closely related to: age (51 per cent of the patients were over 60 years of age); burn size (68 per cent of the patients had burns covering more than 30 per cent TBS); burn depth (57.4 per cent had full skin thickness burns); inhalation injury (present in 66 per cent of the fatally injured); and associated risk factors. The main cause of the burning injury was flames, chiefly from domestic accidents. The average survival time for the fatally injured patients was 10 days. Finally, our expected mortality followed a linear regression model, the LA50 for patients with only full skin thickness burns was 50 per cent.     

Survival rates of patients hospitalized in French burns units during 1985

This survey analyses data from 17 French burn units with respect to age, severity of injury and survival of patients admitted to hospital during 1985. Of the 2398 patients treated, more than half were between 15 and 50 years old. About 90 per cent of the patients had burns covering less than 50 per cent of the body surface area. The overall mortality rate was 11.8 per cent. The LD50 for the 2398 patients was a burned surface area of approximately 60 per cent of the total body surface area. The LD50 for patients less than 30 years old was a burn covering just over 80 per cent of the total body surface. The survival rate as a function of the Baux index was also analysed.     

45例大面积烧伤患者的救治分析

目的:总结大面积烧伤患者的救治体会.方法:对我院收治的45例烧伤总面积超过50%TBSA的大面积烧伤患者给予补液、呼吸支持、创面处理、营养支持、抗感染及激素、乌司他丁等药物治疗.比较不同预后患者年龄、烧伤面积、住院时间、并发症等情况.结果:26例患者治愈,7例死亡,12例放弃治疗.放弃治疗组患者年龄明显大于治愈组(P<0.01),但与死亡组差异不显著(P>0.05);治愈、死亡和放弃治疗的患者间烧伤总面积差异无显著性(P>0.05),但治愈组III度烧伤面积显著小于放弃治疗组(P<0.01)和死亡组(P<0.05).放弃治疗的主要原因是病情严重、年龄偏大和经济负担重.26例治愈患者于伤后6周基本完成创面修复,裸露创面在5%以下.伤后出现的并发症包括脓毒症、心包积液、胸腔积液、肺感染、感染性心内膜炎、应激性糖尿病和反应性精神异常.创面培养细菌主要为铜绿假单胞菌(26株)、金黄色葡萄球菌(19株)、肺炎克雷白菌(15株)和醋酸钙不动杆菌(15株).7例死亡患者中3例死于烧伤脓毒症,4例因治疗后期家属放弃积极治疗而死亡.结论:有效的液体复苏、维持呼吸道通畅、积极的创面修复和有力的抗感染治疗是大面积烧伤救治成功的关键环节.烧伤感染是导致烧伤死亡的重要原因.     

An analysis of 1704 burn injuries in Hong Kong children

Over a 12-month period, 1704 children less than 15 years old with burn injuries seen in the accident and emergency departments of seven major regional hospitals in Hong Kong were analysed with respect to their epidemiological data. The age group with the highest risk for injury was 0-4 years (57 per cent) and with a maximum at 1-2 years of age. Boys showed a significantly higher incidence of burns than girls at any age. Ninety-three per cent of the accidents occurred at home and 92 per cent were scalds caused by hot water and other fluids. In the great majority of patients the total body area of burn did not exceed 5 per cent. Younger children had a higher incidence of burns involving the head, face and anterior trunk, 39 per cent of the 0-4 year age group required hospital admission. During the winter months, the children tended to suffer from deeper burns.     

Effects of early hypnosis on the cardiovascular and renal physiology of burn patients

Sixteen patients with body surface area (BSA) burns of 4 per cent to 83 per cent, with whom single hypnotherapeutic interventions were attempted 5·3±3·4 h post burn, were compared to 16 matched controls. Ten physiological parameters related to fluid volume and haemodynamics were recorded on the first two post burn days. The only significant difference discovered was elevated urine output 0–48 h post burn in successfully hypnotized patients (P=0·01). This difference was inversely related (r=?0·94, P=0·009) to burn size from a 10 per cent BSA burn (3·9 litres/48 h) to a 35 per cent BSA burn (1·6 litres/48 h). A statistically suggestive (P=0·13) increase in urine output occurred in patients in whom hypnotic trance induction was unsuccessfully attempted. Patients with BSA burn sizes ≥ 50 per cent, who presented with significant physiological stress and hypovolemia, were found not to be susceptible to hypnotic trance induction, and derived no physiological benefit. Attempted hypnotherapeutic intervention per se, with its psychotherapeutic component, may act only to reduce affective or psychological stress and anxiety. This psychological stress reduction apparently facilitates the loss of retained fluid in patients with small burns by a mechanism which is overwhelmed by the physiological stress of a major burn injury.     

Bacteriology of burn wound sepsis in a general surgical ward

During this study, 35 cases of burns of various percentages were studied to collect data on clinical aspects of and the prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in normal skin as well as burn areas.In these patients, 248 cultures were taken from the normal areas and 258 from the burn sites. One hundred and twenty-six cultures were positive out of the normal group and 187 were positive from the burn areas.Gram-positive cocci predominated in the upper half of the body while Gram-negative bacilli showed a preponderance in the lower half.Antibiograms showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most resistant organism. Staphylococcus pyogenes had been sensitive to chloramphenicol in 95 per cent of the sensitivity reports.Pyocine typing in 8 cases showed that both cross infection as well as auto-infection play a major role in the infection of burn wounds. Preventive measures need to be directed against both the sources.     

Evaluation of topical therapy with silver-kaolin (Argostop) in an experimental model of burn wound sepsis

Burn wound therapy with silver-kaolin, a topical agent applied as an aerosol spray, was evaluated in male rats given a 20 per cent total body surface area, full thickness dorsal scald burn. Burn wounds treated with silver-kaolin healed at rates comparable to untreated wounds. No significant differences were noted in the numbers or types of organisms colonizing the wounds of treated and untreated rats at 5, 12 and 19 days post-burn. To evaluate the effectiveness of silver-kaolin in treating burn wound sepsis, rats were inoculated on the wound surface with 2.5 x 10(8) Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This inoculum resulted in 100 per cent mortality in untreated rats. Rats treated with silver-kaolin had a mortality rate of 71 per cent, compared to a 9 per cent mortality rate in rats treated with 1 per cent silver sulphadiazine. When silver-kaolin was applied to the wound prior to bacterial inoculation, the mortality rate was reduced to 6 per cent. When wounds were treated with kaolin alone and then inoculated with bacteria, the mortality rate was 50 per cent, indicating that part of the effectiveness of silver-kaolin appeared to be due to a barrier effect. These results indicate that silver-kaolin may be useful for preventive topical antimicrobial therapy of acute burns or after wound debridement or excision, but is not suitable for therapy of wounds previously colonized by microorganisms.     

Pulmonary complications in burn patients resuscitated with a low-volume colloid solution

The occurrence of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pneumonia was assessed in 482 patients with severe burns, but without evidence of inhalation injury. The patients were resuscitated during the burn shock period with a low-volume formula consisting mainly of plasma. The incidence of ARDS was 2.5 per cent for the entire burn population, and 9.4 per cent for 65 patients with burns covering more than 50 per cent of the body surface area. The general incidence of pneumonia was 4.4 per cent but was 12.5 per cent for the 65 patients with the extensive burns. These incidences were compared with other studies, and a pathophysiological explanation has been offered to explain differences in the frequency of pulmonary complications. The present review indicates that resuscitation with a low-volume formula consisting mainly of colloids can act as prophylaxis for reducing the incidence of ARDS and pneumonia.     

Burn injuries in the Dong Bei area of China: a study of 12,606 cases.

This survey analyses data from nine Chinese burn units with respect to age, causes, severity of burn injury, and survival or death of patients admitted to hospital during the past 10 years (from January 1980 to December 1989). Of 12,606 burned patients treated, 3391 were children (26.9 per cent) and over half the children (52.3 per cent) were up to 4 years old. Almost 60 per cent of the 12,606 patients treated were in the young adult group (15-44 years), and 86.9 per cent of 12,606 patients sustained thermal injuries mainly from fire flames followed by scald injuries (40.7 per cent). About 93 per cent of the patients had burns covering less than 50 per cent of the body surface area. The overall mortality rate was 1.24 per cent. The LD50 for the 12,112 patients less than 60 years old was a burned surface area exceeding 80 per cent of the total body surface area.     

Burns during pregnancy

Eight cases of burns during pregnancy were treated in Kuwait during the last 3 years. In all burns above 30 per cent body surface area (BSA), abortion, premature labour and intrauterine fetal death are ever-present complications and the survival of the foetus in burns above 50 per cent BSA is uncommon. Nearly all these complications occur during the first week after the burn. For patients in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy with burns above 50 per cent BSA the prognosis is usually poor unless the pregnancy is terminated within 24-48 h after the burn.     

Treatment of severe burn cases in the air-fluidized bed

During a half-year period, the air-fluidized bed was used in the treatment of severely burned patients. In most cases good results were obtained. However, in the treatment of a 31-year-old patient with second and third degree burns of 40 per cent of the total body surface area, there occurred severe hypernatraemia, hyperosmolarity of the serum, mental disorientation and decubitus ulcers. The positive and negative results of the treatment are presented. Reasons for the poor results experienced in our series and in other burn centres will be discussed.     

Use of topically applied silver sulphadiazine plus cerium nitrate in major burns

All patients hospitalized between May 1987 and June 1988 suffering from burns covering over 50 per cent of the body surface area were treated by topical application of a cream containing cerium nitrate (0.05 M) and silver sulphadiazine (0.03 M) (CN + SSD). Eleven patients were included in this series, with a mean age of 35 years (range 22-65), a mean total burn size of 78 per cent (range 50-96 per cent) and full skin thickness covering a mean of 48 per cent (range 10-91 per cent). Eight patients survived (73 per cent) (mean age 36 years; mean total burn surface 73 per cent; mean full skin thickness burn surface, 38 per cent). These results are far better than those obtained in our Unit where a survival rate of 34 per cent was obtained in a comparable series of patients treated before 1987. Sixty positive blood cultures were obtained, which included a large variety of organisms with a slight predominance of Staph. aureus, Candida albicans and Ps. aeruginosa. Wound cultures were positive in 72 per cent of swabs and showed a predominance of Ps. aeruginosa (59 per cent of all the strains isolated). Even if CN + SSD appears in this series not to be very efficient in preventing wound colonization and septic complications, it permitted a very high survival rate in the treated patients, taking into account the extreme severity of the injuries. This beneficial effect is probably the consequence of the protective action of the yellow-green eschar formed by CN + SSD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Tracheostomy complicating massive burn injury. A plea for conservatism

The effective management of extensively burned patients is significantly compromised by the presence of an indwelling tracheostomy tube. In our series of twenty-five patients studied, all with burns exceeding 55 per cent of the body surface area, nine were managed with tracheostomy and sixteen without it. The incidence of pulmonary sepsis was 78 and 12.5 per cent, respectively, and cumulative mortality figures were 100 and 25 per cent, respectively. One hundred per cent correlation was noted between wound cultures and endotracheal aspirate cultures. The reduction in cross contamination afforded by the use of Bacteria-Controlled Nursing Units [14,15] strongly implicates wound-lung autoinfection as the common denominator, although certain more peripheral factors such as decreased lung bacterial clearance in the presence of sepsis, the use of continuous positive pressure ventilation to maintain tissue oxygenation, and hematogenously borne lung infection (septic emboli) clearly play an important role.Although tracheostomy in patients with true inhalation thermal injury may be life-saving, its injudicious application in this clinical setting may be fatal. Enthusiasm must be tempered with thorough clinical evaluation and sound judgment.     

Plasticized polyvinyl chloride film as a primary burns dressing: a microbiological study

Twenty-four patients were studied after the application of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film as a temporary burns dressing. The burns were assessed as being partial thickness (nine patients) and full thickness (15 patients) in depth and involving 2 per cent to 35 per cent of the body surface area. Microbiological cultures were performed on the exudate beneath the plasticized PVC film and then at each dressing change until the burn was healed. Bacterial isolates showed no unexpected organisms and there was no predominant organism to suggest contamination from the plasticized PVC film. Indeed, bacteria were only rarely isolated from the initial exudate (three of 37 burn wounds), and subsequent bacterial cultures did not differ from those normally found in burn wounds. In addition, incorporation of the plasticized PVC film into nutrient broth and agar with Staph, aureus and Ps. aeruginosa did not influence the recovery of these organisms, indicating that plasticized PVC film does not exert any antibacterial effect.