Infections following burn injury.

Those factors that have contributed most to the control of burn wound sepsis in the burn patient since 1930 have been the advent of penicillin, the institution of burn center care, the availability of aminoglycosides and antifungal agents, the advent of topical therapy, the aggressive treatment of the burn wound by excisional therapy, a better understanding of respiratory therapy, the support of immune competence, and the recognition of the importance of nutritional support (Fig. 1). At the Shriners Cincinnati Unit, the extent of burn associated with a survival rate of 50 per cent has risen from 70 per cent in 1970 to 80 per cent in 1978. The better chance of survival for burn patients during this period can be directly related to a progressive improvement in the local and systemic measures available for the control of infection.