Epidemiology, prevalence and risk factors for infections in burn patients: results from a regional burn centre’s analysis

Burn patients are at high risk of infections due to severe impairment of immunity and loss of skin barrier function. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, incidence and risk factors for infection in a cohort of burns patients. Two hundred patients were retrospectively enrolled and subdivided into infected (N = 81) and uninfected groups (N = 119). The cumulative prevalence of infections was 27% on day 7 and 43.8% on day 28. Skin and soft tissue infections (32%) were the most frequent. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (28%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (25%) infections were most prevalent. An indwelling central venous catheter (CVC; sub-hazard ratio [SHR] 7.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.78–14.62) and revised Baux score (RBS; SHR 2.08, 95% CI 0.98–4.42) were associated with higher incremental infection rate while surgical treatment resulted in a protective factor (SHR 0.45, 95% CI 0.29–0.75). RBS may be useful to stratify the infection risk: a strict collaboration between surgeons and infectious disease specialists is needed to implement source control and antimicrobial surveillance.