Distribution and drug resistance of pathogens in burn patients in China from 2006 to 2019

BACKGROUND In this study,recent trends in the distribution and drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria isolated from patients treated at a burn ward between 2006 and 2019 were investigated.AIM To develop more effective clinical strategies and techniques for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections in burn patients.METHODS Clinical samples with positive bacteria were collected from patients at the burn ward in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital in China between January 2006 and December 2019.The samples were retrospectively analyzed,the distribution of pathogenic bacteria was determined,and the trends and changes in bacterial drug resistance during different period were assessed.Drug resistance in several main pathogenic bacteria from 2006 to 2011 and from 2012 to 2019 was comparatively summarized and analyzed.RESULTS Samples from 17119 patients were collected and analyzed from 2006 to 2019.Surprisingly,a total of 7960 strains of different pathogenic bacteria were isolated at this hospital.Among these bacteria,87.98%(7003/7960)of the strains were isolated from burn wounds,and only 1.34%(107/7960)were isolated from the blood of patients.In addition,49.70%(3956/7960)were identified as Grampositive bacteria,48.13%(3831/7960)were Gram-negative bacteria,and the remaining 2.17%(173/7960)were classified as fungi or other pathogens.Importantly,Staphylococcus aureus(21.68%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(14.23%),and Staphylococcus epidermidis (9.61%) were the top three pathogens most frequentlyisolated from patients.CONCLUSION In patients treated at the burn ward in this hospital from 2006 to 2019,Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the predominant clinicalpathogens responsible for bacterial infections. The circumstantial detection anddetailed monitoring of the intensity and growth of different pathogenic bacteria inclinical patients as well as tests of drug sensitivity during burn recovery areparticularly important to provide guidelines for the application of antibiotics andother related drugs. Careful collection and correct, standard culture of bacterialspecimens are also crucial to improve the efficiency of bacterial infectiondetection. Effective monitoring and timely clinical treatment in patients may helpreduce the possibility and rate of infection as well as alleviate the effects of drugresistance among patients in burn centers.

Application of a pre-filled tissue expander for preventing soft tissue incarceration during tibial distraction osteogenesis

BACKGROUND Bone transport and distraction osteogenesis has been widely used to treat bone defects after traumatic surgery,but,skin and soft tissue incarceration can be as high as 27.6%.AIM To investigate the efficacy of inserting a tissue expander to prevent soft tissue incarceration.METHODS Between January 2016 and December 2018,12 patients underwent implantation of a tissue expander in the subcutaneous layer in the vicinity of a tibial defect to maintain the soft tissue in position.A certain amount of normal saline was injected into the tissue expander during surgery and was then gradually extracted to shrink the expander during the course of transport distraction osteogenesis.The tissue expander was removed when the two ends of the tibial defect were close enough.RESULTS In all 12 patients,the expanders remained intact in the subcutaneous layer of the bone defect area during the course of transport distraction osteogenesis.When bone transport was adequate,the expander was removed and the bone transport process was completed.During the whole process,there was no incarceration of skin and soft tissue in the bone defect area.Complications occurred in one patient,who experienced poor wound healing.CONCLUSION The pre-filled expander technique can effectively avoid soft tissue incarceration.The authors’primary success with this method indicates that it may be a valuable tool in the management of incarcerated soft tissue.