[Comparison of 4 methods of bacterial count determination in burn wounds]

The present study includes twelve patients with second and third degree fresh burns involving 10-70 per cent total body surface area. Standardized surface swab, gaze pad contact, Rodac plates, and burn wound biopsy cultures were obtained twice per week. The various techniques were compared by 48 independent measurements. Confluent growth occur in more than 70 per cent of the Rodac agar plates. There was a significant (alpha less than 1%) correlation between the results of the surface swab and the gaze pad method. A comparison of the number of viable bacteria detected with the burn wound biopsy technique and the surface methods (gaze pad and surface swab) showed no significant correlation. In addition, the number of colony forming units in 8 parallel cultures obtained from different sites of the burn wound was determined. The standard error of mean (SEM) varied between 1.01 log (biopsy), 0.91 log (gaze pad) and 0.61 log (surface swab). Several case reports emphasize that the quantitative biopsy culture seems to give most reliable data in predicting burn wound sepsis.