Burn infections characteristics: A review
Authors:   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, LAZARESCU Andra-Luana , GROSU-BULARDA Andreea ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, ANDREI Mihaela-Cristina ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania,   “Carol“ Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, FRUNZA Adrian ,   1 Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania,   “Carol“ Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, GRAMA Sabina ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, STOIAN Alexandru ,   1 Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, HODEA Florin Vlad ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, IONESCU Dan Aurel ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, POPESCU Șerban Arghir ,   1 Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania,   “Carol“ Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, LASCAR Ioan ,   Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania,   “Carol“ Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
Published: June 2021

Burn injuries are unique in comparison to other types of trauma because of their severity and major systemic impact produced by extensive lesions with disfunctions that can persist even several years after the injury. Multiple complications can occur during burn injury evolution, from which infections are the most severe and the most frequently encountered, requiring adequate diagnosis and treatment. In most burn centers, increased mortality rates associate with severe burn injuries aggravated by the development of sepsis. There are multiple sources of infections in burned patients: lungs, wounds, catheters, gastrointestinal and urinary tract. Pathogens are often multi-resistant bacteria but also fungi and viruses appear as opportunistic infections. The main goal is represented by prevention of organ dysfunction development through specific supportive measures that avoid its onset. Early excision of the burn eschar and wound grafting is essential for patient outcome, decreasing duration of hospitalization, infectious risk and mortality. As a principle, antibiotic treatment in burn infectious complications is started empirically, with broad spectrum agents if the results of microbiological cultures are not available and immediately after the antibiogram is available, targeted antibiotic is introduced. De-escalation strategy is promoted in order to prevent antimicrobial resistance: narrow spectrum drugs with proven efficacy on determined germs are administered, avoiding if possible, reserve antibiotics.