{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T13:21:42Z","timestamp":1787664102606,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Hamad bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold>\n                    Burn injuries in children are associated with a high risk of wound colonization and infection due to loss of skin integrity and prolonged hospitalization. Understanding temporal microbiological patterns is essential to guide clinical management and antimicrobial stewardship.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold>\n                    A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Al-Wakrah Hospital, Qatar, between 2022 and 2025. Children aged 1 month to 14 years with burn injuries and at least one wound culture were included. Early (\u226472 hours) and late (&gt;72 hours) wound colonization patterns, antimicrobial utilization, and sepsis outcomes were analyzed using Fisher\u2019s exact test.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold>\n                    A total of 199 patients were included (mean age 3 years), with scald burns accounting for 86.4% and most burns involving \u226410% total body surface area (TBSA). Early wound cultures were predominantly no growth or normal flora (68.2%). In contrast, late cultures demonstrated a significant decline in normal flora (10.5% vs 27.3%,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; 0.001) and a shift toward Gram-negative organisms, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.2% vs 0.5%,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.002), along with emergence of yeast (3.9% vs 0%,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.008). Larger burns (&gt;10% TBSA) were significantly associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.003). Antibiotic use among patients with negative cultures increased significantly in the late phase (56.7% vs 28.8%,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.003). Sepsis occurred in 5.5% of patients and was more frequent in larger burns, although not statistically significant.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold>\n                    Pediatric burn wound microbiology demonstrates a clear temporal shift toward Gram-negative organisms with prolonged hospitalization, particularly in larger burns. Increased antibiotic use in patients with negative cultures highlights important opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship and optimization of prescribing practices.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5339\/qmj.2026.56","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T12:49:38Z","timestamp":1787662178000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A retrospective analysis of bacterial colonization epidemiology in pediatric burn patients in Qatar"],"prefix":"10.5339","volume":"2026","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2094-3462","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Soliman Mohamed","family":"Aly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy Department, Al-Wakra Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-8196-1412","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ahmed 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