Francois Ravat a, *, Ronan Le-Floch b , Christophe Vinsonneau c , Pierre Ainaud d , Marc Bertin-Maghit e , Herve Carsin f , Ge rard Perro g the Socie te Francaise dEtude et de Traitement des Bru lures (SFETB) a Centre des bru le s, Centre hospitalier St Joseph et St Luc, 20 quai Claude Bernard, 69007 Lyon, France b Centre des bru le s, Centre hospitalo-universitaire, Nantes, France c Centre des bru le s, Groupe hospitalier Cochin, Paris, France d Centre des bru le s, Ho pital de la Conception, Marseille, France e Centre des bru le s, Ho pital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France f Centre des bru le s, Ho pital dInstruction des Arme es Percy, Clamart, France g Centre des bru le s, Ho pital Pellegrin-Tripode, Bordeaux, France Contents 1. General considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1.1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1.2. Infection criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1.3. Dealing with local infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1.4. Role of bacterial population (inoculum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2. Time for onset of antibiotic therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3. Bactericidal or bacteriostatic molecules? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 4. Association or monotherapy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 5. Adaptation of antibiotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Accepted 13 October 2009 Keywords: Antibiotics Antibiotic therapy Burn Burn patient Bacterial resistance Pharmacokinetics Pharmacodynamics Dosage a b s t r a c t Infection is a major problem in burn care and especially when it is due to bacteria with hospital-acquired multi-resistance to antibiotics. Moreover, when these bacteria are Gram- negative organisms, the most effective molecules are 20 years old and there is little hope of any new product available even in the distant future. Therefore, it is obvious that currently available antibiotics should not be misused. Withthis aiminmind, the following reviewwas conducted by a group of experts from the French Society for Burn Injuries (SFETB). It examined key points addressing the management of antibiotics for burn patients: when to use or not, time of onset, bactericidia, combination, adaptation, de-escalation, treatment duration and regimen based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of these compounds. The authors also considered antibioprophylaxis and some other key points such as: infection diagnosis criteria, bacterial inoculae and local treatment. French guidelines for the use of antibiotics in burn patients have been designed up from this work. # 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 478 61 89 25; fax: +33 478 61 88 77. E-mail address: fravat@ch-stjoseph-stluc-lyon.fr (F. Ravat). avai l abl e at www. sci encedi r ect . com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/burns 0305-4179/$36.00 # 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2009.10.006 6. Duration of antibiotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 7. Administration methods (dosage and rhythm of injection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 7.1. Notions of pharmacokinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 7.2. Notions of pharmacodynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 7.3. Regimen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 8. Monitoring antibiotic concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 9. Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 10. Guidelines from the French Society for Burn Injuries (SFETB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 10.1. Guidelines for antibiotic therapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 10.2. Guidelines for antibiotics prophylaxis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 10.3. Practical use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 A study conducted in the French burns centres during the summer 2006 pointed out that 19% of inpatients developed an infection. Although these facts are comparable to those observed in intensive care units, infection is a major problem in burn care and especially when it is due to bacteria with hospital-acquired multi-resistance to antibiotics, which has been proved to be directly related to the consumption of antibiotics. Moreover, when these bacteria are Gram-negative organisms, the most effective molecules are 20 years old and there is no hope to see any newmolecule available even in the far future. Therefore, it is obvious that current antibiotics still active should not be overused or misused. Thus, the French Society for Burn Injuries (SFETB) has published guidelines for the use of antibiotics in the burn patient. These guidelines were drawn up by a group of experts from the SFETB. Analysis of the literature, synthesis of the relevant items and drafting the guidelines were led by three members of the group. The changes, denitive draft and validation were approved collectively by all the experts, according to the levels of evidence-based medicine [1,2]. The following text is the review of literature conducted by the French group of experts prior to the elaboration of guidelines. 1. General considerations 1.1. Introduction Antibiotics should be used by keeping mind that they target not the patient but the bacteria: the clinician should select the molecule or molecules with the greatest antibacterial efcacy and attempt to supply a concentration at the infection site high enough to kill targeted pathogens (bactericidia). Antibiotics should not allow bacterial resistance to arise by lowering the selection pressure and thereby limiting the consequences of antibiotics use in terms of bacterial ecology. Controlling the prescription of antibiotics, espe- cially by avoiding useless antibiotic therapy, is an excellent means to decrease emergence of bacterial resistance [35]. Antibiotics are only one of the means to ght infection. Antibiotic therapy is part of global hospital strategy as well as hygiene, and others. 1.2. Infection criteria Diagnosis of infection in burn patient is not easy because clinical (hyperthermia) and biological (hyperleukocytosis, increased CRP levels, etc.) infection criteria are poorly relevant, especially in heavier-burn patients. Actually, a serious burn triggers a systemic inammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which mimics usual clinical and biological signs of infection [69]. Therefore, deciding an antibiotic therapy based on such usual infection criteria may lead to the prescription of useless antibiotics. This has led experts to dene the criteria of infection in burn patient. The retained criteria are based onthose validatedfor intensive care patients withtwo particular characteristics, namely the general criteria of infection and criteria for burn wound infection. Differenti- ation between skin infection and colonisation should be pointed out, as the presence of germs on the wound does not necessarily mean that it is infected (see Appendix 1). 1.3. Dealing with local infection Antibiotic therapy prescribed to prevent infection of burned skin does not actually prevent it and even facilitates the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria [10]. Diffusion of antibiotic in the burned skin is questionable and cannot achieve bactericidal concentrations so that bacteria can grow and develop resistances. However, local topical agents are known to be efcient in preventing and treating burned skin infections [7]. For these two reasons, local infection that is, without general symptoms of sepsis should require only local treatment. 1.4. Role of bacterial population (inoculum) The probability of antibiotic-resistant mutant strains appear- ing withina bacterial population is not void. For example, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the probability of a uoroquinolone- resistant strain appearing is estimated at 10 6 . The risk of appearance of resistant strains is therefore directly related to the size of the bacterial population (inoculum). With P. aeruginosa, if the size of the bacterial population exceeds 10 6 , the probability of a uoroquinolone-resistant strain appearing becomes higher. One of the means of limiting this probability is to reduce the inoculum [11]. For some infectious diseases, the reduction of inoculum alone ensures recovery b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 17 without antibiotic therapy or becomes the main treatment (this is especially the case of skin and soft-tissue infections [12]). In burn patients, very signicant inocula may be observed during pneumonias and/or infection of burned skin. Inthese cases, reducing the inoculumhas tremendous impact, by clearing for pneumonia and debridement (or removal) of infected burned tissues, respectively. During bacterial colonisation of tissue, the shift from colonisation to infection depends on three parameters, namely the level of the bacterial inoculum, host defences and bacterial virulence [1315]. Reducing the inoculum may therefore contribute to preventing infections. 2. Time for onset of antibiotic therapy In case of serious infection (i.e., poorly tolerated and/or life threatening), antibiotic therapy should be started within 6 h following the diagnosis of infection [16,17] as delayed antibiotic therapy increases mortality [1719]. When the infection is not very serious (i.e., well-tolerated and without organ failure), initiation of antibiotic therapy can be delayed until microbiological documentation. In serious undocument- ed infection, bacteriological sampling should be performed before starting antibiotic therapy [20], but without delaying it. As long as the infection is not documented, antibiotic therapy is empiric. Therefore, broad-spectrum molecules should be chosen for maximum efcacy. Nevertheless, the choice for empiric treatment depends on patient ecology, ward ecology, length of stay, previous antibiotic therapy, patient condition, and so on. 3. Bactericidal or bacteriostatic molecules? Burn patients exhibit immune deciency, which is still incompletely understood, and mainly affects cell-mediated immunity (lymphocytes, macrophages and neutrophils) [21]. In these conditions, antibiotic therapy will, by itself, probably need to be effective, that is, without the help of host defences [22]. Moreover, the infections observed are often with heavy inoculae (lung, wound). Bactericidal antibiotics will there help to reduce inoculum. Lastly, in case of serious infection, antibiotic therapy will need to be effective quickly. For all these reasons, bactericidal molecules should be preferred. 4. Association or monotherapy? The literature does not provide powerful enough data to recommend combination therapy rather than monotherapy [23,24] except in particular cases. Nevertheless, combination therapy has a number of theoretical advantages, namely broader spectrum (useful in situations of empiric antibiotic therapy), enhanced bactericidia (more important and with the quickest bactericidal activity) and prevention of emergence of resistant strains (especially when inoculum is heavy). The probability of bacterial resistance to a combination of two molecules is the product of probability for each molecule (if each molecule presents with a probability of 10 6 , the probability of the combination is 10 12 , which exceeds the usual inoculae sizes). Some antibiotics should not be used in monotherapy due to their high selection risk (fosfomycin, fusidic acid, rifampi- cin and uoroquinolones) [11]. Combination therapy is also recommended against multi-resistant hospital bacteria to avoid acquisition of new resistances, thereby maintaining their sensitivity prole [11]. One should remember that the burn patient is immunocompromised and expresses a number of factors altering the pharmacokinetics of anti- biotics [25]; this means that the regimen of antibiotics should be altered when compared with that recommended in the healthy volunteer [26]. Antibiotic therapy should be started immediately and should be effective from the beginning [11,12,16,17,19]. All these arguments are in favour of the use of antibiotic combinations for the management of serious bacterial infections in burn patients. 5. Adaptation of antibiotherapy Adaptation is a two-stage strategy [19,27,28]: Initial clinical approach: start of empirical treatment when infection is suspected. Subsequent bacteriological approach: assessment of initial treatment based on bacteriological documentation. Antibiotic therapy should be started immediately [16,17]. Consequently, it is often started though bacteriological documentation is lacking (empiric antibiotic therapy). This empiric antibiotic therapy may be inappropriate, andis known to increase mortality [17,29]. The antibiotic usually chosen has a broad-spectrum activity (with multi-drug resistant strains selection risk) although bacteria involved are sensitive to narrower-spectrum antibiotics [30,31]. In these conditions, any antibiotic therapy should be assessed after 4872 h [12,16,20], as soon as bacteriological results are available. Antibiotic therapy will have to be adapted to the germ(s) actually responsible for the infection. Shifting frombroad-spectrumempiric antibiotic therapy to a narrow-spectrum adapted strategy (guided by the antibio- gram) is called de-escalation. It should be performed whenev- er possible [16,20,27,28,32]. De-escalation has two aims, namely individual benet (recovery of a patient) and collective benet (reducing selective pressure and source of bacterial resistance). Three conditions are mandatory for de-escalation. Bacteriological documentation available. Antibiogram available (bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics established). Improvement of clinical status after 72 h. There are understandable limits: Reliability of bacteriological data (e.g., in the case of ventilator-associated pneumonia, what type of sample should be chosen to conrm diagnosis?). b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 18 How to assess the clinical evolution (e.g., which elements should be used in pneumonia: hyperthermia? arterial blood gases? imaging?)? Discontinuation of antibiotic therapy considered useless may be likened to de-escalation [33]. 6. Duration of antibiotherapy Excepted in few particular situations related to the microor- ganism and/or severe immune failure, a well-conducted antibiotic therapy enables a quick inoculum decrease [34]. Prolonged administration of antibiotics is often unjustied and leads to an increase in selective pressure. Following several prospective randomised studies conducted in ventila- tor-associated pneumonia [32,35,36], antibiotic therapy lasting 78 days is recommended unless treatment provided initially was adequate. However, in P. aeruginosa-related infections, a longer duration is probably necessary [35]. In that case, it is recommended not to exceed 15 days of antibiotic therapy [37] or discontinue it after 4872 h of apyrexia (or disappearance of signs that led to diagnosis of infection). 7. Administration methods (dosage and rhythm of injection) 7.1. Notions of pharmacokinetics In intensive care and burn patients, all pharmacokinetics parameters (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excre- tion) of many classes of drugs, including antimicrobials, are altered, with signicant intra-individual variations, and have been documented over the past 30 years [26,3844]. The main clinical consequence is a drop in tissue concentrations. It has also been demonstrated that low serum concentrations of antibiotics mayleadtoboththerapeuticfailures andemergence of resistant strains [45]. Inaddition, the resistance mechanisms developed by bacteria lead to reduced efcacy of usual dosages of antibiotic (increase in minimum inhibitory concentration), and the combination of these factors brings about therapeutic failures [46]. Consequently, theusuallyrecommendedregimen, suitable for a healthy volunteer, is not recommended and both daily dosage and regimen should be altered in burn patients. 7.2. Notions of pharmacodynamics Bactericidal antibiotics may be divided into two groups, depending on their bactericidal activity prole [47,48]: Concentration-related antibiotics. Bactericidal activity is proportional to the concentration obtained, that is, to the administered dose: the higher the dose, the stronger the bactericidal activity. The targeted pharmacokinetic objec- tive is therefore the highest possible concentration, the only limit being side effects. Time-related antibiotics. Bactericidal activity increases with the dose but reaches a plateau over which it does not increase further (maximum bactericidal activity). With these antibiotics, the determining factor is how long does the concentration surpass the MIC. 7.3. Regimen The regimen depends on the pharmacodynamic character- istics of the molecules [47,49]: Concentration-related antibiotics (aminoglycosides, uoroqui- nolones and fosfomycin) [34,5054]. The parameter to consider is the inhibitory quotient (IQ), dened as the ratio between the maximum concentration (C max ) and the MIC. Administration is intermittent; the interval between two administrations depends on the elimination half-life of the molecule; it should not exceed 3 times this half-life [55]. Consequently, regimen of aminoglycosides is a single daily dose (SDD) while, with uoroquinolones, it consists of several daily injections (ciprooxacin 34 daily, ooxacin 3 daily, peoxacin 2 daily and levooxacin 23 daily). Time-related antibiotics (beta-lactams, glycopeptides) [45,56 58]. Bactericidal activity is slow and poorly related to concentration. The predictive parameter of therapeutic success is the time during which the antibiotic serum concentrations are above the MIC. The aim is therefore to reach serum concentrations exceeding the MIC 100% of the time. There are several methods to achieve this, namely using molecules with a long half-life, shortening the time period between the two injections or using continuous intravenous infusion. Continuous infusion regimen seems to be the optimal choice because it appears to provide more stable serum levels in burn patients [5961]. Continuous infusion needs the injection of a loading dose to achieve levels above MIC within a reasonable time period. The loading dose depends on the molecules used [12,16]. 8. Monitoring antibiotic concentrations Historically, antibiotic monitoring was suggested to prevent toxicity. Nowadays, there is no doubt on its relevance in guaranteeing, as soonas possible, the efcacy of the molecules used [38,56,6264]. A new concept has been dened, based on the interactions between the pharmacokinetics and pharma- codynamics of the drug, in which the key factors are serum levels. The following two situations occur, depending on the bactericidal activity of the antibiotic considered: Concentration-related activity: Achieving an IQ above 10 in most cases [34,50] and above 20 for P. aeruginosa (or similar germ)-related infection is recommended. To determine the IQ, both C max and MIC values are requested. MIC of targeted bacteria can be found by the bacteriology laboratory (E-test or other technique [65]). When MIC is unknown, the highest MIC in sensitive bacteria (low critical concentration (LCC)) can be found by local scientic societies or CDC and should be the value used to calculate IQ. To measure the maximum concentration (C max ), sam- pling should proceed 30 min after the end of the injection, b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 19 with the exception of ciprooxacin, where a sample must be taken as soon as infusion is completed, due to the fast diffusion of the molecule. With aminoglycosides, concen- tration measurement just before the second injection (through concentration) is recommended. It will help assess the risk of toxicity. Time-related antibiotics: When the continuous infusion regi- men is chosen, monitoring blood concentrations by steady state (C ss ) is mandatory. The experts recommend a C ss between4 and 5 times the MIC[59]. Insome particular cases, such as Pseudomonas infections, targeted C ss could be 10 times the MIC [57]. The half-life of most (except for ceftriaxone, ertape ne` me, doripenem, ce fe pime and teico- planin) is short. Provided that the steady state is reached after 5 T1/2b, samples for C ss monitoring can be obtained by the day following onset of the compound [59]. The steady state is more quickly achieved after the administration of a loading dose. Furthermore, with time-related antimicro- bials, initiating continuous infusion without loading dose will probably lead to initial low concentrations, when inoculum and thereby risk of resistance selection is higher. In the continuous infusion regimen, the sample can be obtained for monitoring at any moment when the steady state is thought to be achieved. 9. Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis In burn patients, antibiotic prophylaxis is only relevant during the perioperative period as discussed above [10]. It aims to full three objectives [66,67]: Reduce local inoculum and enhance grafts intake. Decrease wound-borne bacteraemia. Do not increase selection pressure. Antibiotic prophylaxis rules had been dened and spread worldwide by several consensus conferences driven by other scientic societies [68]. These are: Antibiotic prophylaxis shouldbe startedearly enoughbefore surgery (approximately 1 h 30 min, usually just before anaesthesia induction). Half of the initial dose should be re-injected every 2 half- lives of the molecule (for oxacillin, the re-injectionshould be practised every 4 h). Antibiotic prophylaxis lasts at least 24 h and should never exceed 48 h. If repeated injections are likely, continuous infusion after loading dose is possible, provided pharmacodynamics of the molecule is suitable (time-related bactericidal molecules). 10. Guidelines from the French Society for Burn Injuries (SFETB) The following guidelines have been established according to the levels of evidence-based medicine [1,2]. They have been validated by Socie te Franc aise dEtude et de Traitement des Bru lures in June 2008. They are available at www.sfetb.org or www.brulure.org. 10.1. Guidelines for antibiotic therapy No antibiotics without proven infections (level 1) A local infection requires a local treatment (level 1) However, when the local infection is associated with general signs of infection, experts consider that the infectious process is no longer purely local and that use of an antibiotic may be indicated. Attempt to reduce the bacterial inoculum (level 5) Antibiotics in serious infections is an emergency (level 1) Use bactericidal antibiotics (level 5) Know how to combine antibiotics (level 5) Experts recommend the use of antibiotic combinations for the management of serious bacterial infections during, at least, the rst 72 h of the infection. Adapt antibiotic therapy (level 1) Any antibiotic therapy should be assessed within 48 72 h, as soon as bacteriology is available. Antibiotic therapy should be adapted to the germ(s) responsible of the infection. Practise de-escalation (level 5) Anytime possible, shift broad-spectrum antibiotic for narrow-spectrum one guided by the antibiogram. When to stop antibiotics therapy (level 5) Antibiotic therapy lasting 78 days is recommended, provided initial treatment was accurate. In P. aeruginosa infections antibiotherapy should not exceed 15 days. Respect the regimen (level 1) With concentration-related antibiotics, administration is intermittent and the interval between two injections should not exceed 3 times its half-life. With time-related antibiotics, continuous infusion after the loading dose should be used. In any burn patient, but those with kidney and/or liver failure, higher dosage than usually recommended is needed. Antibiotic monitoring is mandatory (level 2) With concentration-related antibiotics, IQover 10 should be achieved (20 in P. aeuginosa infections). With time-related antibiotics, experts recommend to achieve a concentration at steady state between 4 and 5 times the MIC. 10.2. Guidelines for antibiotics prophylaxis In burn patients, antibiotic prophylaxis could be used in patients needing invasive surgery (excisions, aps, etc.) but not in dressing changes. The experts recommend [68] (level 5): No identied local infection and undened bacterial target. Target methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus, that is, oxa- cillin or cloxacillin (30 mg kg 1 ) or rst-generation ceph- alosporin (30 mg kg 1 ). In case of allergy, clindamycin should be used (10 mg kg 1 ). No identied local infection but isolation of a pathogen on skin samples. b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 20 Target this one. Documented or non-documented local infection. This is no longer prophylaxis, as the infection is ongoing. Administration should follow the usual rules about curative treatment and consider the identied or presumed pathogen. Application of inert skin substitute such as articial dermis. In the absence of guidelines in the literature, the experts suggest if bacteria are isolated from skin samples, target them. Otherwise, target Staphylococcus. 10.3. Practical use For examples of regimen for some antibiotics in burn patients, see Appendix 2. Conict of interest statement The authors have no nancial interests to declare. Appendix A General denitions No predictive value of infection In adults, presence of SIRS: two or more criteria of the four below: T (8C)>38.5 8C or <36 8C, Heart rate >90 bpm, RR >20 per minute or capnia <25 mmHg, Leucocytes >12 G or <4 G or >10% of immature forms. Any burn patient >20% BSA and/or with smoke inhalation injury is likely to present with SIRS criteria in any infectious process. Predictive values of infection Appearance of SIRS criteria in an adult whose lesions are <15% or 20% BSA and without any smoke inhalation injury. Twoor more of the four criteria belowinanadult witha burn >BSA and/or with smoke inhalation injury: - T (8C) >39.5 8C or <35.5 8C, - 50% basal HR, - 50% basal RR, - or 100% of number of leucocytes, - Haemodynamic failure with onset or enhancement of catecholamine treatment. Denitions of infection criteria for burned skin The diagnosis of a skin infection is clinical. Bacterial infection (1) Positive local signs: Presence of a local or loco-regional inammatory reaction Unfavourable and unexpected local evolution To the burns - Presence of pus - Rapid cleansing and detachment - Appearance of blackish marks (necrosis or haemor- rhage) - Unexplained conversion of a lesion from supercial to deep (>48th hour) To the donor graft sites - Presence of pus - Unexplained delayed healing - Scab To the recipient grafts - Presence of pus - Lysis of grafts - Necrosis of fat located under the graft To the healed areas - Impetigo - Lysis of healed areas (2) Bacteriological skin samples: They are used to nd out the germ(s) involved. More often, a simple swab is enough. The biopsy is never systematic. It might be performed in difcult cases, followed by Microbiology examination - Direct microscope examination with staining and semi-quantitative measurement of germs - Quantication of germs present per gram of tissue after homogenate status: threshold of 10 5 CFU g 1 is retained as signicant of the risk of haematogenous dissemination An extemporaneous pathology examination after freezing enabling one to appreciate the level of invasivity - Colonisation: germs in the non-vascularised tissue - Infection: germs in the living tissue and in contact with vessels (3) Summary: Skin infection with general signs is considered as a systemic infection originated from skin. General signs + + + + Local signs + + + + Skin culture + + + + Skin infection + S + S + ? + Fungal skin infection The diagnosis may be conrmed with a biopsy. Herpes skin infection The diagnosis is clinical and may be conrmed with the onset of a serology conversion and the presence of the virus in local samples. Denitions of infection criteria for the other sites Denitions per site (below) originate from those main- tained by the CCLIN (French Central Comity for Struggle b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 21 Against Nosocomial Infections), the survey of the REA- REACAT/RAISIN 2006 monitoring network. These denitions are taken up in the Guide de de nition des infections nosocomiales of the CCLIN Paris-Nord (1995), itself adapted from 1988 CDC denitions (CDC denitions for nosocomial infections, Gardner JS, Jarvis WR, Emori TG, et al., Am J Infect Contl 1988;16:12840.) and the 1992 CSHPF (100 recommanda- tions pour la surveillance et la pre vention des infections, BEH June 1992) (100 guidelines for the monitoring andpreventionof infections). Lung infection Pneumonia General signs + specic organ signs microbiological cri- teria: At least two chest X-rays, withnewimage of pneumonia or a change of a previous image At least one of the following signs (two in the absence of microbiological criteria): - Appearance of purulent secretions or change in their characteristics (colour, smell, consistency and quantity) - Dyspnoea, tachypnoea or cough (if not ventilated) - Recent onset or worsened hypoxemia Microbiological diagnosis (one of the following criteria): - BAL with a threshold of 10 4 CFU ml 1 or 5% of cells with direct bacterial inclusion - Wimberley brush technique with a threshold of 10 3 CFU ml 1 - PDP with threshold of 10 3 CFU ml 1 - Quantitative bronchial aspiration with a threshold of 10 6 CFU ml 1 - Blood culture or positive sample of bronchial tissue (histology) or pleural uid in the absence of any other source of infection - Specic examinations for viral pneumonia or pneumonia due to particular microorganisms (Ag or Ac in bronchial secretions, direct examinations or positive cultures of bronchial secretions, urinary antigens or serology con- versions) Bronchitis General signs, cough, recent change in expectorations or bronchial aspirations, bronchial crepitations + isolation of germ(s) in bronchial aspirations + no radiological sign of infection. Bacteraemia General signs + positive blood culture(s): At least one blood culture (sample taken during a tempera- ture peak) positive to a germ known to be a pathogen Two blood cultures in a maximum interval of 48 h (sample taken during a temperature peak) positive to one of the following germs: coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Bacillus sp., Corynebacterium sp., Propionibacterium sp., Micro- coccus sp. and Acinetobacter sp. If bacteraemia is the consequence of another infection or is responsible for secondary localisations, local signs of infection will be associated. In case of central venous catheter (CVC)-associated bacter- aemia, the following will be necessary: - Positive blood culture in presence of a CVC (or withdrawn within 48 h) in the absence of any other infection to the same germ - AND one of the following criteria: - 10 3 CFU ml 1 of the same germ in quantitative culture of the catheter - Differential blood cultures with CVC/periph 5 or positiv- ity time period CVC/periph 2 h to the same germ. Infection of central catheter Local or general infection signs with all the following criteria: No blood culture to the same germ CVC culture 10 3 CFU ml 1 Regression of the infectious syndrome within 48 h following catheter withdrawal Urinary tract infection Positive urine cytology (10 4 leucocytes ml 1 ) Asymptomatic (without general signs): - Bladder catheter within past 7 days: urine culture 10 5 CFU ml 1 if the patient has had urinary catheter insertion within the previous 7 days. - In the absence of urinary catheterisation, no bladder catheter: two consecutive urine cultures 10 5 CFU ml 1 to the same germ(s) without the presence of more than two species (no more than two different species) Symptomatic (general signs): - Urine culture 10 5 CFU ml 1 (at maximum of two species) or - or 10 3 CFU ml 1 with 10 4 leukocytes ml 1 and general signs Appendix B Methods of administration of some antibiotics in burn patients. Beta-lactams Beta-lactams are time-related bactericidal antibiotics. They should be administered by continuous infusion whenever possible [55,6973]. Continuous perfusion is immediately preceded by a loading dose, depending on the molecule [12,16], and is usually equal to a single dose in repeated administration regimen. Continuous administration is sometimes rendered difcult by poor stability of the molecule along time (clavulanic acid and imipenem), physical and chemical incompatibility of molecules and differences in the pharmacokinetics of a molecule and its co-factor (amoxicillinclavulanic acid/imi- penemcilastatin). b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 22 Penicillins Cloxacillin and oxacillin Continuous infusion 150200 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 50 mg 1 kg 1 Targeted steady-state concentration is at 810 mg l 1 or 45 times the MIC. Amoxicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanate Continuous infusion 150200 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 50 mg 1 kg 1 Targeted steady-state concentration is at 6480 mg l 1 or 45 times the MIC. Amoxicillin: stable 6 h at 25 8C in NaCl solvent. In case of electric syringe administration, replace the syringe every 6 h. Amoxicillinclavulanate: clavulanate tends to accumulate because its half-life is longer than amoxicillins. In continuous infusion regimen, mix 50% amoxicillin and 50% as amoxicillinclavulanate and change syringe every 6 h. In repeated injections regimen, the recommended targeted concentration (1620 mg l 1 ) is a trough concentration. Carboxy- and Ureidopenicillins Ticarcillin, ticarcillin + clavulanic acid Continuous infusion 150200 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 50 mg 1 kg 1 Targeted steady-state concentration 6480 mg l 1 or 45 times the MIC Ticarcillin: stable for 24 h at 25 8C Ticarcillinclavulanic acid: stable for 6 h at 25 8C. Clavulanate tends to accumulate because its half-life is longer than ticarcillins. In continuous infusion regimen, mix 50% ticarcillin and 50% ticarcil- linclavulanate and change syringe every 6 h. In repeated injections regimen, the recommended target concentration (1620 mg l 1 ) is a trough concentration Piperacillin, piperacillin + tazobactam Continuous infusion At least 200 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 50 mg kg 1 There are no stability or accumulation problems. Targeted steady- state concentration is reached at 6480 mg l 1 or 45 times the MIC Cephalosporins Cefotaxime Continuous infusion 100150 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 25 mg kg 1 Stability: 3 h 30 min at 25 8C Targeted steady-state concentration is at 1620 mg l 1 or 45 times MIC Ceftazidime Continuous infusion 100150 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 25 mg kg 1 Administration in soft bags with volumetric pump is preferred due to the risk of gas release, but continuous administration with electric syringe is possible Targeted steady-state concentration is at 1620 mg l 1 or 45 times MIC. For germs at risk (specically ticarcillin-R P. aeruginosa), the targeted steady-state concentration is 3240 mg l 1 or 810 times MIC Iimipenem Continuous infusion 50100 mg kg 1 daily Loading dose 10 mg kg 1 Stability: 3 h 30 min at 25 8C Targeted steady-state concentration is at 1620 mg l 1 or 45 times MIC. For germs at risk (specically Acinetobacter baumanii) it is 32 40 mg l 1 or 810 times MIC Fluoroquinolones Concentration-related bactericidal antibiotics active on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria [74]. These pro- ducts should be administered repeatedly. The frequency of injections is determined by the half-life of the molecules [74]. Only few data about pharmacokinetics of uoroquinolones such as ciprooxacin being available, the experts can only provide guidelines for ciprooxacin. Ciprooxacin [26,75] Repeated administration 34 injections daily 1020 mg kg 1 per injection (total dose 3080 mg kg 1 daily) Infuse for 30 min. Sample for C max immediately at the end of the injection (due to the very quick diffusion time of the molecule) Target (C max ): >30 mg l 1 (optimal = 40 mg l 1 ) or >10 times the MIC Beware of occult water administration (0.5 ml per mg ciproox- acin) Aminoglycosides Concentration-related bactericidal antibiotics. Single daily dose (SDD). The dosage should be increased in burn patients [42]. Amikacin 30 mg kg 1 once a day Infuse for 60 min Sample for peak concentration 30 min after the end of infusion Targeted peak value: >80 mg l 1 or >10 times the MIC Sample for trough concentration immediately before the second infusion Trough concentration < 5 mg l 1 Gentamicin, tobramycin and netilmicin 10 mg kg 1 once a day Infuse for 60 min Sample for peak concentration 30 min after the end of infusion Targeted peak value: >20 mg l 1 or >10 times the MIC Sample for trough concentration immediately before the second infusion Trough concentration < 2 mg l 1 Glycopeptides Vancomycin Continuous infusion 30 mg kg 1 per day Loading dose = 5 mg kg 1 Concentration at steady state: 2030 mg l 1 . Sample can be taken any time, more than 12 h after infusion onset b ur ns 3 7 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1 6 2 6 23 Oxazolidinones Linezolide a Spectrum limited to Gram-positive cocci. Bactericidal activity limited to streptococci [76]. 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