Pseudomonas aeruginosa: A Controlled Burn Pathogen
Abstract
P. aeruginosa (PA) became a commonly reported burn patient isolate after the introduction of the first generation of modern antimicrobial agents. With today's knowledge of the natural and acquire mechanisms of resistance to agents such as the sulfonamides and penicillin, it seems obvious that Pseudomonas was a natural candidate for the niche initially occupied by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and other susceptible gram-positive burn pathogens. This microbial evolution and the resulting clinical changes were first recognized at this and other burn care facilities in the late 1950s. The early reports of a morbid condition resulting from invasion of burn wounds by PA were not universally accepted. This skepticism was met by experimental proof of the pathogenicity of this organism for burned hosts by fulfilling Koch's postulates in a burned rat model. By the mid-1960s, the occurrence and clinical significance of PA infection in burned patients was accepted and PA was recognized as the predominant worldwide agent causing fatal wound infections in burned patients. (JS)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA228631
Entities
People
- A. T. Mcmanus
Organizations
- United States Army Institute of Surgical Research