402 Document heading doi:10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60596-X 襃 2014 by the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. All rights reserved. Isolation of pathogenic microorganisms from burn patients admitted in Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and demonstration of their drug- resistance traits Syed Md Shariar Alam 1 , Md. Abul Kalam 2 , Md. Sakil Munna 1 , Saurab Kishore Munshi 1 , Rashed Noor 1* 1 Department of Microbiology, Stamford University Bangladesh, 51 Siddeswari Road, Dhaka 1217, Bangladesh 2 Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2014; 4(5): 402-407 Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apjtd *Corresponding author: Dr. Rashed Noor, Associate Professor & Chairman, Department of Microbiology, Stamford University Bangladesh, 51 Siddeswari Road, Dhaka-1217, Bangladesh. Tel: +880 2 8355626, ext. 472; 8801749401451 Fax: +880 2 9143531 E-mail: noor.rashed@yahoo.com Foundation Project: Supported by Stamford University Bangladesh. 1. Introduction Burn injuries, either non-invasive or invasive, are frequently exposed to microbial infection together with a general state of immune suppression [1-4] . Nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections, caused by microorganism present as part of the normal flora of the patient, or exogenous infections acquired through exposure to the hospital environment, hospital personnel or medical devices, are mostly known to be associated with burn wound infection [5-10] . Any bacterium could be a likely pathogen in burn wounds; however, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Enterococcus spp. have been reported to be the most common Gram positive pathogens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter spp. are the most common Gram negative microorganisms [8,11- PEER REVIEW ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Antimicrobial activity, Burn wounds, Microorganisms, Public health Objective: To isolate and quantify the microflora from the burn patients admitted in the Division of Plastic Surgery and Burns outdoor patients in Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Methods: Thirty wound surface swab samples of first and second degree burn patients were collected and the microbial analysis as well the study of antibacterial susceptibility was conducted. Microbial inhibitory concentration of tobramycin was tested to be applied as effective antimicrobial agent in burn patients. Activity of four disinfectants was also tested against the pathogens. Results: Among all samples, 28 was found to be populated with the total viable bacteria up to 10 7 CFU/mL. The predominant pathogen was Pseudomonas spp., followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Kebsiella spp. Three of the samples harbored Enterobacter spp. while 2 were found to be proliferated with Escherichia coli. Most of the pathogens were found to be drug-resistant while several isolates were noted to be multi-drug resistant. Dettol partly showed efficacy among the tested disinfectants to prevent pathogenic proliferation. Conclusions: Huge bacterial onset with an alarming threat of multidrug resistance would potentially raise the necessity of proper care and management of burn wound patients in hospital. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Peer reviewer Prof. M Majibur Rahman, Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka. Tel: +8801552459425 E-mail: majibrahman@gmail.com Comments The study findings are interesting, methods are clearly described, sufficient literatures have been cited, results have been reported and interpreted clearly. The manuscript is succinct to read and easily understandable. The authors detected the bacterial proliferation, pondered their drug-resistance properties, and finally evaluated the disinfectant efficacy. Details on Page 406 Article history: Received 19 May 2014 Received in revised form 23 May, 2nd revised form 26 May, 3rd revised form 2 Jun 2014 Accepted 22 Jul 2014 Available online 28 Oct 2014