This study examined the effects of oral antibiotics to selectively decontaminate the digestive tract (SDD) on postburn myocardial signaling, inflammation, and function. We hypothesized that antibiotic therapy to eliminate pathogens from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract would reduce myocardial inflammatory responses and improve postburn myocardial performance. Sprague-Dawley rats received polymyx...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate baseline and 14 days prospective changes in viscoelastic whole blood coagulation by thromboelastography (TEG) in patients with moderate and severe burns corresponding to ≥ 10 % total body surface area (TBSA). Methods: 13 patients with burns ≥ 10% were included in the study. TEG analysis and standard coagulation parameters as APTT, INR, plat...

OBJECTIVE To validate the use of photographic burn wound assessment in evaluation of burn size and wound characteristics. METHODS Feasibility study of agreement between methods of measurement of burn size and characteristics, in patients admitted to the burn unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), Malawi, over two months in 2011. Burn wounds were photographed and assessed clinically, concurren...

Bacteraemias during burn wound manipulation are frequent, especially following burn wound excision. However, these bacteraemias seem not to have any clinical consequences, and their treatment is therefore controversial. Over a 20-month period 35 surgical debridement procedures were recorded prospectively in 18 burn patients. Blood culture samples were drawn before, during, and after surgical ex...

Patients with severe burns are susceptible to infection with Gram-positive organisms including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and often require higher antibiotic dosages compared with other patients. This study examined the pharmacokinetics of a single iv dose of teicoplanin (12 mg/kg) in 15 adults and five children with severe burns. Adults were aged 21-82 years with a median tot...

The information in this article was presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Burn, Nagoya, Japan, June 7-8, 2008. Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, a nonfermentative, Gram-negative rod often found in aqueous environments, has been isolated from respirators, incubators, and disinfectant solutions in the hospital environment. It is known to cause disease in immunocompromised (eg, burn...

Organ dysfunction and failure are important for burned patients as they increase morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence has suggested that organ injuries are occurring earlier after burns, and are more common than previously thought. In this study we have assessed the extent to which liver function, assessed by the plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDR(ICG)), is affected in pati...

BACKGROUND Topical antimicrobial agents have proven efficacy in preventing life-threatening invasive burn wound infection. Under wartime or mass-casualty conditions, however, there may be an inadequate supply of these agents. This study aimed to identify those patients most likely to benefit therefrom. METHODS Logistical regression analysis of data from the U.S. Army Burn Center was performed...

Early acute pain after injury has been linked to long-term patient outcomes, including the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several studies have identified a negative correlation between early anesthetic/analgesic usage and subsequent development of PTSD. This retrospective study examined the relationship between early acute pain and severity of PTSD symptoms in soldiers wit...

Oxygen-derived free radicals play important roles in pathophysiological processes in critically ill patients, but the data characterizing relationships between radicals and neuroendocrine system response are sparse. To search the cue to reduce the oxidative cellular damage from the point of view of neuroendocrine system response, we studied the indicators of neuroendocrine and inflammatory resp...