Cross infection on a combined paediatric plastic surgery and burns unit: a clinical and microbiological audit

To try and determine any presence of cross-infection between patients, prospective screening of 226 consecutive admissions on our burns unit was performed by taking nose, throat and wound swabs. Infected wounds were also swabbed and a correlation was sought between the organisms cultured on screening swabs and those responsible for infection. We did not find any evidence of cross- infection occurring between the burns patients and the other categories of patients on the ward. Screening swabs were useful in detecting carriers, who were found to be more of a risk to themselves than to other patients on the unit.