Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases. Supplementum
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Scand J Infect Dis Suppl · Jan 1978
Comparative StudyIsolation care of infection-prone burn patients.
An experimental and clinical study of spread of colonisation between burn patients, and their susceptibility to infection, was performed. Burn patients' polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMN) functioned poorly, particularly during the second week after injury which coincided with maximum growth of bacteria in the burn wound. Patients with large burns often dispersed S. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa but also beta-hemolytic Streptococcus to the air of their rooms. ⋯ An open-roofed plastic patient isolator was designed and built. It did not appreciably reduce cross-contamination and gave psychological and practical problems. It seemed not to be a realistic alternative to better protective garments in isolation rooms.