Alborz University

Introduction: Burn wound infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a significant challenge for patients. This study aimed to isolate antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli from patients at the Shahid Motahari Burn Hospital in Tehran. Additionally, the ability of these isolated strains to form biofilms was investigated.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, burn wound swab samples were collected from 120 patients. Biochemical identification was followed by determining antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined, along with assessing biofilm formation using 96-well microtiter plates and tetrazolium (TTC) staining.
Results: The percentage of bacteria resistant to at least 5 antibiotics was 60% for K. pneumoniae, 53.33% for S. aureus, 30% for P. aeruginosa, and 13.33% for E. coli. All strains resistant to at least 5 antibiotics had the ability to form biofilms. The high prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive S. aureus, coupled with increased biofilm formation among S. aureus, supports the hypothesis that biofilm formation contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance.
Conclusion: The changing pattern of microbial resistance among isolates from burn wound infections necessitates adjustments in antibiotic therapy and may even require non-antibiotic treatment modalities. Systematic determination of the antimicrobial resistance profile of burn wound infection isolates is recommended.