A descriptive study was carried out among 100 patients admitted in burns ward in a tertiary care hospital, Visakhapatnam over a period of one year from January 2018 to December 2018. The aim of the study is to determine the bacterial etiological agents prevalent in burn wound infection and their antimicrobial sensitivity pattern. Material methods - A total of 200 swabs were collected from patients with burn wound infection and cultured using standard aerobic microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done for different agents using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Results- out of the 200 swabs cultured from burn wound infections, 190 swabs were culture positive and 10 swabs were found to be sterile. The isolation rate was 95%. A predesigned pro-forma was made to show variables which include patient occupation, age, sex, percentage of burn, depth of the burn, site from where culture was taken, day of the swab taken, and culture report. Culture from burn wound infection revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism (36%) followed by staphylococcus aureus (28.5%) and other organisms include E.coli (8%), Klebsiella sp. (21%), Acinetobacter sp. (1.5%). There was a high rate of multi drug resistant organisms. Out of the 100 swabs taken on the 3rd day of admission i.e. 1st isolate, the most common organism isolated was Staphylococcus aureus (27%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26%), Klebsiella (22%), E.coli (12%), Acinetobacter species (3%). 10 swabs were found to be sterile. Staphylococcus aureus was sensitive to Linezolid (100%), Amoxyclave (81%), Clindamycin (88%), Erythromycin (66%), Cotrimaxazole (66%), Cefoxitin (77%), Amikacin (12%), and Tetracycline (51%). Gram negative isolates were sensitive to Pipercillin+Tazobactam (100%), Meropenem (100%), Cefepime (74%), Ceftazidime+Clavulanicacid (100%), Gentamicin (15%), Amikacin (38%), and Cotrimaxazole (19%). Out of the 100 culture taken on the 5th day of admission i.e. 2nd isolate the most common organism isolated was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (46%), Staphylococcus aureus (30%), Klebsiella sp. (20%), E. coli (4%). Gram negative isolates were sensitive to Piperacillin+Tazobactam (100%), Meropenem (100%), Ceftazidime+Clavulanicacid (100%), Cefepime (88%), Gentamicin (31%), and Amikacin (42%). Staphylococcus aureus was sensitive to Linezolid (100%), Clindamycin (86%), Cefoxitin (86%), Amoxyclave (66%), Erythromycin (53%), and Tetracycline (56%). Conclusion-The study showed majority of the patients were from the rural area of which female (65%) patients were more in number. Collection of appropriate samples for culture before starting of antibiotics helps better management of patients along with isolation precautions. Close follow up of patients and repeat isolations are necessary for appropriate change in antibiotics. Careful selection of antibiotics to control the wound infection is required for proper management of burn wound infection in order to help reduce morbidity and mortality.

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