The Bacterial Causes of Infections in Burned Patients and Antibiotic Resistance: A study conducted at Baquba Teaching Hospital, Diyala Province-Iraq

Background: Burn injuries serve as sites with the potential for colonization by pathogens from both within and outside the body. Proper diagnostic and treatment protocols depend on a thorough understanding of burn pathophysiology and the relationship between pathogens and infection types. Resistant bacteria have a longer survival in hospital environments and reflect their easy spread and cause epidemics. Thus, this study aimed to identify the bacterial causes of burn infections and their antibiotic sensitivity test. Methods: A total of 100 burn patients were collected, including males (52) and females (48), with a mean age of 39.17 years, ranging from 15 to 65 years. These patients were admitted to the burn unit at Baquba Teaching Hospital for this study, conducted from November 2022 to November 2023. The mean total surface area burned was 18%, with a range of 12% to 83%. Results: Staphylococcus aureus exhibited the highest sensitivity to vancomycin (75.25%), whereas most of the isolated Gram-negative bacterial strains displayed multidrug resistance. S. aureus has been demonstrated to be resistant to ciprofloxacin at 40% and erythromycin at 84%, with all strains sensitive to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin in a minority of cases. Furthermore, 40% of the Staphylococcus isolated from samples were Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Conclusion: The study showed an increased rates of resistance bacteria among the burn patients and need urgent intervention from the health authorities. Keywords: Antibiotic resistant, Burns, Bacterial infection