In order to provide improved standards of care and outcomes for pediatric burn population, the focus of research at Shriners Burns Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio is directed toward the control and understanding of inflamation following thermal injury. In previous studies, it was found that the administration of the anabolic agent growth hormone can bring about a partial reversal of nitrogen wasting in burn patients. The anabolic effect is accompanied by an increased healing rate of the graft donor wound sites. Treatment with IGF-1 may be an effective way to reduce the impact of burn injury on muscle protein breakdown. Funding for the Vitamin K study was concluded at the end of 1997.
Prompt intervention is essential for the survival of our patients.
Studies are ongoing to further increase the understanding of infection following thermal injury. These studies could impact the physician's choice of antibiotics for treating infections. CRP has become a reliable predictor of impending sepsis, generally preceding other clinical indicators, whether caused by infection or another inflammatory reaction. Clinicians at this institution are now routinely using this parameter to aid them in the early detection of sepsis. A study of the effects of thermal injury on the adherence of Candida albicans to murine spleen tissue indicated that a burn shifts the pattern of adherence of fungal cells in the spleen offering a possible explanation why burn patients are more susceptible to fatal fungal infections.