Determinants of donor site infections in small burn grafts.

Studies indicate no advantage to the early use of systemic antibiotics in patients with burns, but the use of prophylactic antibiotics during excision is still being questioned. The records of 213 patients who required excision and who had less than 20% total body surface area burned were reviewed. We investigated risk factors associated with donor- and graft-site infections and whether or not perioperative antibiotics influenced the incidence of infections. Statistically significant increases in donor-site infections occurred when patients did not receive perioperative antibiotics, when the excision was large, and when the time between injury and excision was prolonged. Age, burn size, or type of dressing did not influence the development of infections. A risk of graft infections in those patients who were not receiving perioperative antibiotics existed, but it was not significant. The time between injury and excision and the actual size of the excision influence the development of donor-site infections. However, perioperative antibiotics seem to decrease the risk of these infections.