A 17-year-old boy was hospitalized for 55 percent burn injuries from a kerosene lamp. He developed colonization of the wound on his thigh by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an aerobic gram negative bacterium on day 25 of hospitalization. Although Pseufomonas species rarely cause serious infection in normal hosts, immunocompromised hosts and burn patients are highly susceptible to infection particluarly after treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics. In this patient culture of the wound showed the bacterium, but the patient had no clinical signs of infection. Infection occurs in 3 different stages: 1)Bacterial attachment and colonization 2) local invasion 3) Disseminated systemic disease. Hallmark lesions resulting from pseudomonal wound infection are multifocal and have characteristic bluish-green colour due to production of fluorescent pigment pyoverdin and the blue pigment pyocyanin. Ceftazidime combined with an aminoglycoside is a good combination initial therapy.
Description
A seventeen year old male hospitalized for 55% burn injuries due to kerosene lamp developed colonization of his burn wound on thigh by P.Aeruginosa, an aerobic gram negative bacterium on 25th day of hospital admission.It rarely causes disease in healthy persons. Most infectios by it are caused in immunocompromised hosts.It is so ubiquitous in the hospital environment that it is often difficult to distinguish infection from mere colonization.In this patient culture of the wound showed the bacterium but the patient had no clinical signs of infection. Infection by it is composed of three different stages: 1)Bacterial attachment and colonization 2) local invasion 3) Disseminated systemic disease. Hallmark lesions resulting from pseudomonal wound infection are multifocal and have characteristic bluish-green colour due to production of fluorescent pigment pyoverdin and the blue pigment pyocyanin. Ceftazidime combined with an Aminoglycoside is a good combination therapy to start with.
