Fungal infection of burn wounds in patients with open and occlusive treatment methods.

Fungal infection of burn wounds was investigated in a prospective study of 130 patients managed either with open or occlusive treatment methods. In all, 30 fungal isolates were recovered from 26 patients all of whom had bacterial infection also, except for one patient. The predominant fungi recovered were Aspergillus spp. and Candida spp. Fungal infection was more common in patients treated with open dressing (25.5%) than occlusive dressing (16.0%). Fungal culture from tissue specimens gave a better isolation rate of fungi than from cotton swab specimens.