Cross infection on a combined paediatric plastic surgery and burns unit: A clinical and microbiological audit

To try and determine any presence of cross-infection between patients, prospective screening of 226 consecutive admissions on our burns unit was performed by taking nose, throat and wound swabs. Infected wounds were also swabbed and a correlation was sought between the organisms cultured on screening swabs and those responsible for infection. We did not find any evidence of cross infection occurring between the burns patients and the other categories of patients on the ward. Screening swabs were useful in detecting carriers, who were found to be more of a risk to themselves than to other patients on the unit.