Microbiology of wound infections among hospitalised patients following the 2005 Pakistan earthquake

Abstract

After a devastating earthquake hit Northern Pakistan in October 2005, we retrospectively analysed the microbiology records of patients admitted with trauma wounds to Shifa International Hospital, Pakistan. For comparison, we included the records of hospitalised patients with wound infections before, and after, the earthquake. Age and hospital stay were entered as continuous variables and mean +/- SD was reported. Gender, type of injuries, micro-organisms isolated, susceptibilities and type of growth (single/polymicrobial) were entered as categorical variables and frequency reported. Relative risk with 95% confidence interval was shown for the two groups. Mean +/- SD age of patients was 35.15+/-11.11 years with female preponderance (58.4%). Fractures were the commonest injuries (55.9%). Gram-negative bacteria were the commonest organisms found (89%), with a predominance of polymicrobial infections (59.6%) and multidrug-resistant organisms (61.5%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp. and Acinetobacter spp. were the commonest isolates, and most of these were multidrug resistant.