Isolation and characterization of bacteria from burn-injured patients and detection of their antibiotic sensitivity pattern

Abstract

Burn injuries are one of the most prevalent public health issues and cause more than 26,000 deaths every year all over the world. Burn injuries are skin or tissue damages that are caused by various agents like fire, electricity, and chemical exposures. The study aimed to identify the microbial profile of burn wound infections in burn patients and their resistance pattern against antibiotics. A total of 104 burn-infected bacterial samples were collected and analyzed against 11 antibiotics of different groups. In this study, a total of 104 samples of both male and female patients with an age range of 1-90 were observed. It was found that among the 104 isolates burn infection in males was 67 (64.42%) and females were 37 (35.58%). The percentage of burn-injured patients in males was higher than in females. Out of 104 samples, Gram-positive cocci accounted for 30 (28.85%) and Gram-negative Bacilli accounted for 74 (71.15%) which in comparison is approximately double of total Gram-positive isolates. In the case of gram-negative bacteria, the most prevalent bacteria were Pseudomonas spp. 43(41.34%) and in the case of gram-positive bacteria, it was Staphylococcus spp. 15(14.42%). Other than Staphylococcus spp, Staphylococcus saprophyticus 7(6.73%), Micrococcus spp. 7(6.73%) and Streptococcus spp. 1(0.96%) were also found. After performing the antibiotic susceptibility test, both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria showed 100% resistance to the penicillin class of antibiotic. Colistin sulfate and Azithromycin showed the least resistance to Pseudomonas spp which was 13.51% and 32.43% respectively. In terms of gram-positive bacteria, meropenem and imipenem showed the least resistance, which was 43.3%. Based on their resistance pattern bacterial isolates were classified into multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and pan-drug resistant (PDR) pathogens, 33(31.73%) were MDR, 58(55.76%) were XDR and 10(9.61%) were PDR. Lastly, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test was performed on ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, and vancomycin antibiotics against some of the MDR strains. This data reveals that the MIC value rises beyond the standard when resistant bacteria become less sensitive to these medicines. This study will help the treatment process by providing proper antibiotics in advance without waiting for culture, thereby reducing infection-related morbidity and mortality.