To standardise reporting of burn wound infection in treatment trials, to facilitate evidence synthesis and the identification of effective treatments in burns. 

CACH team: Anna Davies, Amber Young

Cochrane reviews investigating interventions for burns report that the indicators used to diagnose burn wound infection are variable or not described, indicating a need to standardise reporting. Without standardisation it is difficult to collate and examine research evidence to identify effective interventions for burn wound infections.

Burn wound infection is diagnosed by clinician judgement, informed by patient symptoms, clinical signs, blood tests and bacteria in the wound. Indicators for reporting burn wound infection should be important for diagnosis, frequently seen in patients, and assessed in routine healthcare.

We aim to use a Delphi methodology to develop a minimum set of indictors of burn wound infection for reporting diagnosis in research, to facilitate evidence synthesis and identify effective treatments.