Bacterial infection in 100 burned patients over a 10-month period has been studied. The commonest colonizing organism was Staph. aureus (69 per cent), followed by E. coli (35 per cent). Pseud. aeruginosa accounted for only 28 per cent of isolates. The role of the different bacterial species in burns pathology is discussed. Group G haemolytic streptococci were isolated from 10 per cent of patients and caused graft failure in some cases. Only 3 per cent of patients developed septicaemia and all were due to Staph. aureus. Our approach to management of infection in burns, especially the policy on systemic antimicrobial chemotherapy, is described.

The paper compares the volumes of colloid, either human dried plasma or human plasma protein fraction, used to resuscitate 81 acute major burn patients. The volumes of human plasma protein fraction used were consistently greater than those of human dried plasma.