Abstract
A burn is a lesion on an organic tissue resultant from direct or indirect action of heat on the organism. The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional, immunological and microbiological status of burn patients at the Bauru State Hospital, São Paulo state, Brazil, in 2007. Eight patients, aged more than 18 years and injured up to 24 hours, were evaluated at the moment of hospitalization and seven days later. All victims were males with a mean age of 38 years. On average, 17.5% of their body surfaces were burned and 50% of the patients were eutrophic. There were significant alterations in levels of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein and albumin due to increased endothelial permeability, direct destruction of proteins in the heat-affected area and blood loss from lesions or debridement. At a second moment, cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α had augmented significantly, with IL-6 presenting elevated levels in relation to controls at the first moment. Microbiological analysis showed that 100% of the samples collected at hospital admission were negative and after one week Staphylococcus aureus was found in all cultures. Therefore, a burn patient may be considered immunosuppressed and these results indicate significant nutritional, immunological and microbiological alterations that can interfere in his recovery.
Highlights
A burn is an injury to an organic tissue caused by direct or indirect action of heat by means of exposure to flames, heated liquids, contact with hot objects, exposure to corrosive chemicals, radiation or contact with an electric current [1, 2]
A burn is a lesion on an organic tissue resultant from direct or indirect action of heat on the organism
The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional, immunological and microbiological status of burn patients at the Bauru State Hospital, São Paulo state, Brazil, in 2007
Summary
A burn is an injury to an organic tissue caused by direct or indirect action of heat by means of exposure to flames, heated liquids, contact with hot objects, exposure to corrosive chemicals, radiation or contact with an electric current [1, 2]. A burn provokes profound metabolic alterations, including malnutrition and hypermetabolism [3] This injury is accompanied by pathophysiological changes that induce acute inflammatory response characterized by activation of inflammatory mechanisms, disruption of cellular immunity and alterations of immune system mediators that, in turn, involve activation of TNF-α, IL1, IL-6 and IL-8. Rapid diagnosis and treatment of infections, by isolating microorganisms at the infection site, are indispensable [5] For this reason, the present study aimed to evaluate the repercussion of burns in relation to the nutritional, immunological and microbiological profile of patients hospitalized with a burn diagnosis. The nutritional diagnosis at the moment of hospitalization revealed that 50.0% of cases were eutrophic, 37.5% were overweight, and 12.5% were obese These findings corroborate previous studies that describe this distribution in burn victims [914]
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