Microbial landscape of wounds in patients with purulent inflammatory diseases of the hand

Interpreting the results of bacteriological examination of material from wounds is a complex and crucial task for the surgeon. Detecting a pathogen in the wound does not confirm its pathogenic role, and the clinical picture of the disease often does not correspond to the obtained microbiological result. The research presents treatment data for 205 patients with purulent diseases of the hand who underwent surgery with biological samples taken for microbiological examination of the wound microflora. In Group 1 (n = 100), the microbial agent was studied by the traditional biochemical method. In Group 2 (n = 105), the combined polymerase chain reaction – mass spectrometry (PCR-MS) diagnostic method was used. In Group 1, the obtained results on the microbial flora structure of a purulent wound were comparable with published data. In Group 2, the combined PCR-MS diagnostic method allowed identifying pathogens in a shorter time, and the revealed structural features showed the predominance of gram-negative flora and fungi. © 2020, Institute of Advanced Scientific Research, Inc.. All rights reserved.