Fungal infections in burn patients: The rise of Fusarium as the most prevalent in a burn center in Mexico City.

Abstract

Burns are among the most devastating traumatic injuries. The primary risk of infection stems from disruption of the primary barrier, the skin. For patients with deep burns, loss of the dermis is the main risk factor for systemic bacterial and fungal infections, which occur in 70% and 20%-25% of cases, respectively. Meanwhile, viral infections occur in 5%-10% of cases. Fungal infections are associated with mortality rates ranging from 33% to 60%. This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis conducted at the Centro Nacional de Investigación y Atención de Quemados at the Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra in Mexico City. The study examined all fungi recovered from biopsies of burn patients from July 2011 to July 2023. A total of 63 cases were included, predominantly flame burns (77.78%), with Fusarium spp. (53.97%) as the predominant fungal genus associated with infection, followed by Aspergillus spp. (19.04%). Most patients had third-degree burns, and the mean total body surface area burned was 46.2%. This study aims to describe the epidemiology and distribution of mold infections in a tertiary care center for burn patients in Mexico City from July 2011 to July 2023.