Abstracts 143

that the risk of clinical infection with this organism under Op-Site is minimal.

Buchan 1. A., Andrews J. K., Lang S. M. et al. (1981) Clinical and laboratory investigation of the compo- sition and properties of human skin wound exudate under semi-permeable dressings. Burns 7,326.

Eschar microbiology The reliability of quantitative estimations of the bacterial content of burned tissue was assessed by com- paring the recovery of microorganisms from biopsy specimens divided into 2 approximately equal parts and cultured in parallel. It was found that only 38 per cent of paired quantitative results agreed within the same log,,, unit and 44 per cent differed by & 2 log,, units. Thus quantitative results derived from bum wound biopsy cultures are unreliable and may be sig- nificantly misleading.

Woolfrey B. F., Fox J. M. and Qua11 C. 0. (198 1) An evaluation of burn wound quantitative microbiology. 1. Quantitative eschar cultures. Am. .I. C/in. Puthol. 75, 532.

Burn wound bacterial flora Cultures from swabs taken from 180 children with bums covering between 10 and 92 per cent of the body surface indicated the presence of only aerobic bacteria in 7 1 per cent of cultures and only anaerobic bacteria

in 8 per cent. Mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were present in 21 per cent of specimens. The pre- dominant aerobic isolates were Staph. epidermidis, Staph. aureus, alpha haemolytic and Group D Streptococci and species of Pseudomonas. The predominant anaerobic organisms were Pseudomona.! acnes, Gram-positive cocci and species of Bacteroides. Positive blood cultures contained strains of Staph. aureus, E. coli. Peptococcus asaccharolyticus and B. ,fiagilis. Most of the isolated bacteria were isolated from swabs taken from around either the oral or anal areas. There was no correlation between the type or site of origin of the bacteria and the use of topical silver sulphadiazine applied to the burned areas.

Brook I. and Randolph J. G. (1981) Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial flora of burns in children. J. Trauma 21.3 13.

Heat and tissue ground substance The altered capillary permeability following burns is limited by changes in the permeability of the vascular endothelium rather than by changes in the ground substance since these studies were unable to detect any changes in the glycosoaminoglycans which constitute the main constituents ofground substance.

Nanney L. B. (1981) The effects of severe thermal injury on the glycosaminoglycans of guinea pig skin. J. Invest Dermatol. 76,221.