Anaerobes in burn-wound infections

Anaerobic bacteria are not routinely considered in discussions of the etiology of burn-wound infection. However, this review of the literature reveals that there are numerous case reports that document clinically significant anaerobic burn-wound infection and some prospective data that suggest a possible role of anaerobes in the clinical setting of burn-wound sepsis. Further studies are needed to answer the questions of how often anaerobes colonize burn wounds and how often anaerobes invade the wounds to cause clinically significant burn-wound sepsis.