Burns Open (Jul 2021)
Detection of biofilm formation among Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn patients
Abstract
Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterium that rapidly colonised on the exacerbated skin surface after the burn injury. Along with inherent resistance to many antibiotics, it is also a good biofilm producer that aggravates the condition of burns patients by slow or non-responsive to antibiotics. Therefore, immediate attention must be taken otherwise the condition of patients may become life-threatening. Hence, this cross-sectional study was conducted to know the current scenario of antimicrobial profile and biofilm properties of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn patients in Nepal Cleft and Burn Centre, Kirtipur Hospital. Methods: Wound swab or pus samples were taken from 344 patients through the Levine technique or syringe, respectively. The standard laboratory protocol was followed for the identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibiotic susceptibility test of isolates was performed by using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method as per the CLSI 2018 guidelines. Biofilm production was accessed through the tube method and microtiter plate assay. Results: All together 60 Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from a total of 275 isolates. The antibiotic susceptibility profile showed that more than 50% of isolates were non-susceptible among the tested antibiotics and shifting of antibiotic choice to piperacillin-tazobactam from traditional amikacin, ciprofloxacin and imipenem. The weak agreement of Kappa statistics indicates that biofilm procurement from the tube method and microtiter plate assay was insignificant. Approximately 25% of P. aeruginosa isolates were biofilm producers and there was no relation between biofilm production and antibiotic susceptibility patterns (χ2 = 0.587). Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common isolate from burn wound infections. There is a shifting in antibiotic choice and more than half of the isolates were antibiotic resistant; however, no relation between biofilm formation and multidrug resistant profile of isolates was found.
