Prevalence and Antibiotics Susceptibility of MRSA at Federal Burn Care Centre, Pakistan

Abstract

Objectives: 1) To assess the prevalence of MRSA among patients with burn wounds. 2) To explore the susceptibility of MRSA to antibiotics in patients with burn wounds.

Methodology: An observational descriptive study was conducted in the Burn Care Centre (BCC), PIMS, SZAB Medical University, Islamabad, from July 2023 to April 2024. Patients of all age groups, genders, and burn varieties were included in our study. 

Results: A total of 274 swab cultures were collected from patients who showed signs of infection. Out of the total, 122 (44.5%) were male patients and 152 (45.4%) were females. About 39.7% (109) patients were children younger than 12 years of age. Among 274 samples, 50 (18.2%) samples revealed no growth. The most common bacteria cultured was Pseudomonas aeruginosa with 113 (41.2%) swab cultures, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae with 71 (25.9%) samples and MRSA with 40 (14.6%) cultures. MRSA showed 100% sensitivity to vancomycin and 92.5% sensitivity to linezolid. Chloramphenicol was 60% sensitive. Penicillin, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, oxacillin, piperacillin, and tazobactam showed no sensitivity to MRSA. 

Conclusion: Our study shows less prevalence of MRSA in the BCC unit with no vancomycin and almost no linezolid resistance as compared to other mentioned studies. We achieved low prevalence of MRSA and antibiotic resistance due to judicial use of antibiotics, maintenance of antibiograms, and following aseptic technique.

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility, Burn, Pakistan, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Wound culture