Antibiotic resistance assessment at the burns unit of Batna University Hospital (2020-2022)

The burn patient's infection is a major and often dreaded complication in the management of patients with severe burns, and is also one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients. A retrospective study was carried out in the burns department (Batna HUC), over a two-year period (2020-2022), with the aim of assessing the antibiotic resistance of strains isolated from burns patients hospitalized during this period. According to data collected from patient records, thermal etiology was the most common cause of burns (97.8%), with equal distribution between the sexes, with a sex ratio of 1.02. The age group most affected was children under 12. The majority of burns were deep 2nd degree (46.6%). Among the 363 burns patients hospitalized in the department, 35 had an unfavorable outcome. Pus was the origin of the 83 bacterial species isolated, the most incriminated were: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (27.3%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.7%), then Staphylococcus aureus (11.8%). Susceptibility of isolated strains to antibiotics varied according to the family. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ESBL production was noted in 36.11%, and carbapenemase in 78.57%. In the case of Staphylococcus aureus, resistance to meticillin concerned 92.30% of isolates, with associated resistance to other antibiotic families, notably fusidic acid and ofloxacin (92.31%), gentamycin 90%. The frequency of isolation of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the present study was 73.33%; 21.48% of isolated strains produced carbapenemase. By adopting judicious prescribing practices and promoting the responsible use of antibiotics, we can help preserve their efficacy in the management of infections in burn patients, in an attempt to eradicate the emergence of resistant germs.