Bacterial infection of the burn wound still remains a matter of major problem, while the other problems caused by burn are drawn back. Many authors have made efforts to prevent and treat the burn wound sepsis. Some of them try to solve this problem by using of burn wound surface culture but there are poor relation between the infection of burn wound surface and that of burn tissue. In other word, quantitative bacteriology of burn tissue gives more acute information about burn wound sepsis than that obtained by burn wound surface culture.
We have studied quantitative bacterology of burn tissue and burn wound surface culture in 24 patients who were admitted at Dept. of General Surgery, Korea University Medical College, from March 1, 1976 to Aug. 31, 1976. The major purpose of this paper are to find out the level of Bacterial colonization which is necessitating to develop burn wound sepsis, time interval from accident to sepsis, and that by what species of bacteria most frequently do the burn tissue be invaded resulting in wound sepsis.
In addition, we have studied relationship between the burn wound surface contaminates, and organisms which invade burn tissue.
The, method -we have used is homogenization of excised tissue with a ground glass homo genizer containing aseptic glass powder after tissue macerlation by knife, followed by serial dilution with, pour plates. The results are summarized as follows.
1. On biopsy culture /Positive in 13 patients (54%) in a total of 24. patients.
Eight patients out of 13 patients developed burn wound sepsis.
\,Three patients out of above 8 patients died of sepsis.
On surface culture (This was done in.-14 patients among 24 patients taken burn wound
biopsy)
Positive in 12 patients (86%) in a total of .14.
Four: patients out of 12 patients (33%) developed burn wound sepsis. 2.On biopsy culture: Mixed infection in 7, cases (11.7%.) in 4 total of 60; cases. On surface culture mixed infection in 8 cases (24.2%) in a total of 33 cases.
There were serious clinical symptoms in a mixed infection by enterococcus p. and -E. Coil.
in spite of relatively small burn wound surface area.(Less than 10%)
3. The No. of bacteria necessitating to develop burn wound sepsis. Pseudomonas ?104,5/gm of burn tissue.
Para colon baci.-107/gm of burn tissue.
Enterobact aerogenus -105/gm of burn tissue.
4. Time interval from accident to sepsis
~5 days: 1 case.
6~10 days: 6 cases (1 case of mixed infection is included) 11~15 days: 1 case.
5. The relation between the organisms discovered by biopsy culture and by surface culure Concurrent occasion between two (even in the bacterial Species) -20 cases (51. 3%) in a total of 39.
Positive on surface culture but negative on Biopsy culture -10 cases (25.6%) in a total of 39.
Negative on surface culture but positive on biopsy culture -3 cases (7.7%) -in a total of 39.
Positive on biopsy and surface culture (But the former is different from the later in Bacterial species). -6 cases (15.4%) in a total of 39.
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