Effects of Wound Bacteria on Postburn Energy Metabolism
Abstract
This study identified the hypermetabolic and thermoregulatory effects of burn wound colonization and examined the role of endotoxin (LPS) in these responses. Resting metabolic rates and colonic temperatures (Tc) of 400-600 g. male Sprague-Dawley rats were monitored before and after full-thickness 30% total body surface burns. Fifty-three burn wounds were seeded with 10 to the 8th power non-virulent P. aeruginosa (NVP) at the time of injury and 33 wounds were allowed to colonize spontaneously. Seeded wounds contained 1,000,000 colony forming units/g (CFU/g) from postburn day (PBD) 4 to PBD 15, while the unseeded wounds did not reach this level of colonization until the second week. The increase in resting VO(2) of 44 non-bacteremic rats correlated with wound bacterial counts (r = 0.63, p<0.001) suggesting that wound bacteria and/or their products contribute to burn hypermetabolism. Hypermetabolic and Tc changes of 18 NVP seeded rats were comparable to those of 17 rats whose wounds were seeded with 10 to the 8th power S. epidermidis (SE). Since SE wounds contained relatively little LPS, and the burned animals were not endotoxemic, LPS is not an obligatory afferent mediator of postburn hypermetabolism. These results suggest that wound bacteria act as non-specific stimuli rather than unique afferent mediators of postburn hypermetabolism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA204148
Entities
People
- Louis H. Aulick
Organizations
- Marshall University