RESUMEN
Nosocomial infection constitutes a major public health problem worldwide. Increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogens associated with nosocomial infections has also become a major therapeutic challenge for physicians. Thus, development of alternative treatment protocols, such as the use of probiotics, matters. The aim of this research was to determine the antagonistic properties of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lb. fermentum isolated from the faeces of healthy infants against nonfermentative bacteria causing nosocomial infections. One hundred five samples of nosocomial infections were collected and processed for bacterial isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing following standard bacteriologic techniques. The antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by the disk diffusion method, and antagonistic effect of Lactobacillus strains was investigated by well diffusion method. Of 105 samples, a total of 29 bacterial strains were identified as nonfermentative bacteria, including 17 Acinetobacter baumannii and 12 Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A. baumannii showed high resistance to tested antibiotics except ampicillin/sulbactam, and P. aeruginosa showed resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam and gentamicin and sensitive to amikacin and meropenem. Lb. plantarum had antagonistic properties against both A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa strains. Lb. plantarum had considerable effects on preventing the growth of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa strains. However, further research is needed to better understanding of these effects on P. aeruginosa.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Two types of dressing, occlusive and exposure dressing, are commonly used in burn units. A dressing is said to be occlusive if a moist wound surface is maintained when the dressing is in place. This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of occlusive and exposure dressing in controlling burn infections. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred patients with second-degree burns admitted to Mottahari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, over a period of 12 months from May 2012 to May 2013 were studied. They were divided into two groups of 100 each, to receive either occlusive or exposure dressing. During the first week of treatment, wound specimens were obtained by sterile swab and cultured in selective media. Demographics (age and gender), burn areas, cause of burn, length of hospital stay (LOS), type of infections and time to total healing were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Occlusive dressing was more susceptible to microbial contamination and infections than exposure dressing. The mean duration of treatment based on epithelialization and healing in occlusive dressing was longer than for exposure dressing. The most common isolate was Pseudomonas spp., followed by Enterobacter, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter, and Klebsiella spp. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure dressing was more suitable than occlusive dressing for treating partial-thickness at our center. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism encountered in burn infection.
