Antibiotic treatment of burned patients: an Italian multicentre study

Antibiotic therapy in burn centres with highly specialized ICUs has reduced the mortality and morbidity in burn and trauma but, in spite of constantly improving supportive surgical and resuscitation methods, infection remains a major problem. Indeed, the clinical experience, as recorded in Europe and the USA, using different antimicrobial drugs and regimens, emphasizes a constantly evolving pattern of pathogenic microorganisms in the wound and in the rest of the patient's body, and their increasing chemoresistance. We report the preliminary results of 559 patients in a large controlled multicentre clinical study (mean age 41.4 +/- 17.8 years and burns covering a mean body surface area of 35.7%), with the collaboration of 13 of the 15 major Italian burn centres. The antibiotic treatment consisted of prophylactic administration of pefloxacin (800 mg i.v. OD for 4 days) for all patients as a first treatment while waiting for an antibiogram, and chemotherapy with teicoplanin (800 mg i.v. OD) together with netilmicin (300 mg i.m. OD) in one or more cycles. At random, half of the patients received thymostimulin (70 mg i.m. OD pro die for the first month and every other day thereafter until discharge from hospital). Of the bacterial pathogens involved in septic complications, 63.3% were Gram-positive (Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp.). The mortality rate was 15.5%. Pefloxacin chemoprophylaxis was successful in 19.4% of patients and cure or improvement was seen with combination chemotherapy in 66.7% of patients, mainly with only one treatment cycle. The incidence of mortality and sepsis was not significantly influenced by treatment with thymostimulin.