Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of burn infection in adult patients

Introduction: The reported rate of infection in the burn units varies considerably. In the new Provincial Burn Unit in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba there is no data available on the infection. Objective: This study characterized the infection from a clinical and epidemiological point of view. Methodology: It was a descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study of adult burn patients with nosocomial infection hospitalized at the Burns Department of Santiago de Cuba from September 2011 to August 2013. The database generated from a survey was processed using Excel version 8.0 and the resulting information was analyzed by the SPSS version 20 statistical program. The X2 test was used to identify factors related to nosocomial infections, taking into account a significance level of 5%. Results: An infection rate (29%) was found to be higher than those found in the literature; and influenced by several modifiable and non-modifiable factors. Conclusion: Signs of infection were considered nonspecific for his diagnosis. The service has had information for decision-making regarding the measures against infection.