Current state and prospects of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients after burn injury

The review is devoted to antibiotic prophylaxis of infectious complications in burns. Severe burn injury often results in death. Infectious complications are the most common cause of mortality in these patients. Systemic antibiotic prophylaxis is actively used in practical medicine, but is not recommended by national and international clinical guidelines for the treatment of patients affected by burns. The principles of such prevention have not been developed yet. The data of studies of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis are inconsistent. A number of studies confirm the rationality of use of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in persons on artificial ventilation with severe burns. This approach has been reported to reduce mortality and incidences of pneumonia significantly. There are evidences of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis effectiveness in some surgical procedures associated with burn injury. Studies also demonstrate antibiotic prophylaxis and intestine decontamination combination effectiveness in preventing from complications in burn patients. Besides antibiotic prophylaxis, other pharmacological approaches currently are being developed in order to reduce the incidence of infectious complications in burns. Preclinical studies have shown the effectiveness of statins and topical probiotics in the prevention of burn sepsis in the experiment. The development and implication of early diagnostic methods for infectious complications is one another possible way to prevent severe infections in patients with burn injury.