Epidemiology of burn unit infections in children

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology of burn unit infections, the effect of these infections on the mortality rate, and antibiotic resistance pattern of the predominant bacteria isolated from children. Patients and method: Epidemiologic data for 610 children, aged 0 to 15 years, admitted to the burn unit at Dicle University Hospital during a 5-year period were collected and analyzed. Results: In 207 patients (33.9%), 279 nosocomial infections were identified. The most common types of infections were burn wound infections (72.4%), urinary tract infections (10.8%), pneumonia (9.3%), and septicemia (7.5%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (181 isolates) was the most common microorganism. Thirty-six patients (5.9%) died at the hospital. Sepsis was associated with mortality in 18 (50%) cases, pneumonia in 6 (17%), and varied noninfectious reasons in 12 patients (33%). P aeruginosa isolates showed high resistance to commonly used antimicrobials. Antibiotic susceptibility test results suggested that imipenem was the most effective agent for P aeruginosa and Escherichia coli strains. Conclusion: The major type of nosocomial infections in the burn unit was burn wound infections, and the majority of nosocomial infections resulted from multiple drug-resistant, gram-negative bacteria.