Burn Wound – The Processes of its Development and Selected Etiological Factors of Infection

Although the topic of burns appears to be relatively well understood in the literature, there is still an apparent discontinuity in the understanding of the correlation of the pathomechanism of thermal injury with the key issue of infection within it. From the analysis of the literature, an intriguing picture emerges for both clinicians and microbiologists. Microbiological diagnosis is extremely important in burn wound infections. The correct sampling and performance of microbiological cultures allows for the identification of the etiological agent of infection and the appropriate choice of targeted antibiotic therapy based on the results of microbiological tests. This is particularly important in the era of increasing resistance of microorganisms and frequent isolation of multi-drug resistant strains. A burn, especially extensive, is a unique environment which, together with ill-considered or ineffective therapy, determines the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms. The consequence of physiological defense of the body against injury leads to a situation where in the center of the burn wound antimicrobials may not reach MIC/MBC, which drastically reduces the chances of therapeutic success.