Effects of Wound Bacteria on Postburn Energy Metabolism
Abstract
The rise in resting metabolic rate (RMR) of the 30% total body surface rat is related to degree of localized wound infection. Seeding the wound with non-virulent P. aeruginosa (NVP) at the tme of injury resulted in a 20-40% increase in RMR during the first postburn week. Rats with unseeded wounds expressed little or no change in RMR by postburn days (PBDs 7-8). The degree of hypermetabolism varied with the number of live microorganisms in the wound, but could not be reproduced by continuous infusion of dead bacteria or endotoxin into the subcutaneous tissue beneath the unseeded wound. Burned rats were febrile on PBDs 1-2, but usually not thereafter. Efforts to alter postburn hypermetabolism by improving humoral or cell-mediated immunity were unsuccessful. The reduction of wound inflammation with topical and systemic hydrocortisone increased invasive infection without affecting RMR of non- bacteremic rats. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) was uncovered in the serum of burned rats, but there was no relationship between IL-1 level and RMR. The data indicate that afferent mediators of postburn hypermetabolism originate in the wound in response to localized bacterial colonization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA225325
Entities
People
- Louis H. Aulick
Organizations
- Marshall University