Recent alcohol intake impacts microbiota in adult burn patients.

Alcohol use is associated with an increased incidence of negative health outcomes in burn patients due to biological mechanisms that include a dysregulated inflammatory response and increased intestinal permeability. This study used phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in blood, a direct biomarker of recent alcohol use, to investigate associations between a recent history of alcohol use and the fecal microbiota, short chain fatty acids, and inflammatory markers in the first week after a burn injury for nineteen participants. Burn patients were grouped according to PEth levels of low or high and differences in the overall fecal microbial community were observed between these cohorts. Two genera that contributed to the differences and had higher relative abundance in the low PEth burn patient group were Akkermansia, a mucin degrading bacteria that improves intestinal barrier function, and Bacteroides, a potentially anti-inflammatory bacteria. There was no statistically significant difference between levels of short chain fatty acids or intestinal permeability across the two groups. To our knowledge, this study represents the first report to evaluate the effects of burn injury and recent alcohol use on early post burn microbiota dysbiosis, inflammatory response, and levels of short chain fatty acids. Future studies in this field are warranted to better understand the factors associated with negative health outcomes and develop interventional trials.

The Integration of Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists into Burn Wound Care Increases Therapist Productivity, Job Satisfaction, and Multidisciplinary Collaboration.

When attempting to deliver specialized rehabilitation therapy interventions, physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) must account for dynamic and logistical patient factors such as daily wound care, pain, difficulty progressing range of motion with dressings donned, and ongoing surgical interventions. Additionally, they must attain institution-specific productivity standards. Given burn patients often require considerable multidisciplinary interventions, efficiently planning and delivering rehabilitation therapy interventions within productivity expectations may prove difficult. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of integrating rehabilitation therapists, PTs and OTs, into daily burn wound care by investigating therapist productivity and multidisciplinary perceptions of this practice change. The quality improvement project involved 6 rehabilitation therapists (3 PTs and 3 OTs) practicing exclusively in the burn unit within an American Burn Association (ABA)-verified burn center at an urban, tertiary care academic medical center. One rehabilitation therapist was responsible for providing interventions within the burn wound care team 5 days a week. General duties included wound assessment, functional wound dressings, and skilled therapeutic interventions such as manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and compression interventions. The primary outcome was changes in group productivity and individual therapist productivity, as measured by total billed Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes per hour worked, which were tracked 22 weeks preimplementation and 28 weeks postimplementation. Program feasibility and general perceptions were assessed by a qualitative questionnaire. For both the entire group of therapists and each individual rehabilitation therapist, billed CPT codes per hour increased postimplementation, 1.81 vs 1.54 (P = .005) and a matched increase of 0.27/h (P = .003). Of the 23 survey respondents, 96% had a favorable impression of the program and reported it eased staffing demands. All respondents reported improved unit workflow and multidisciplinary communication. The majority of multidisciplinary burn team members actively supported the pilot program and commented on improvements in patient care. Full-time rehabilitation therapy participation in wound care increases therapist productivity and job satisfaction. Future efforts, however, should focus on measuring specific patient outcomes and costs as a result of therapist integration into daily wound care practice.

Bone and Skin/Subcutaneous Tissue Concentrations of Cefiderocol During Treatment of Extensively Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare dermatologic disorder that disrupts the skin barrier, requiring immunosuppressive therapy. We successfully used cefiderocol for the treatment of an extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia, and presumed osteomyelitis in a patient with severe pyoderma gangrenosum and associated immunosuppressive therapy while being medically optimized for skin grafting. We obtained bone and skin/subcutaneous tissue while the patient was on cefiderocol under an institutional review board-approved biologic waste recovery protocol. Cefiderocol concentrations in bone and skin/subcutaneous tissue were 13.9 and 35.9 mcg/g, respectively. The patient recovered from bacteremia and underwent autografting without further complications. Cefiderocol at approved dosing of 2 g IV (3-hour infusion) every 8 hours resulted in bone and skin/subcutaneous tissue concentrations adequate to treat extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria that remain susceptible to cefiderocol.

Augmented Renal Function in Burn Patients: Occurrence and Discordance With Commonly Used Methods to Assess Renal Function.

Augmented renal clearance (ARC) is defined by supraphysiologic renal function and is associated with drug failure due to subtherapeutic drug exposure. Burn patients are cited as being at high risk for ARC, yet rates of ARC have not been well described. This retrospective study described the prevalence and incidence of ARC, and compared 12-hour urine collection values (CrCl-12) vs. common estimates of renal function in assessed patients at an American Burn Association-verified burn center. All thermally injured burn patients with a CrCl-12 result were included. ARC was defined as a CrCl-12 >130 ml/min. Cockcroft-Gault, modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD), and CKD-EPI-2021 estimates were calculated. Over 13 months, 163 CrCl-12 results were collected in 68 patients at a median of 9 days from admission with an average value of 160 ml/min. The median total body surface area (total body surface area [TBSA]%) was 17.25%. ARC prevalence was 70.6% with an incidence of 66.3% in all CrCl-12 assessments. Those with ARC were less likely to have heart failure, P = .007. Age, TBSA%, and trauma were not different between those with or without ARC. ARC incidences in those with TBSAs of ≥20%, <20%, or <10%, were 70.5%, 58.6%, and 76.7%, respectively. Agreement of Cockcroft-Gault, MDRD, and CKD-EPI-2021 to CrCl-12 was moderate to weak and frequently failed to identify ARC. ARC is common in burn patients, regardless of TBSA%. Widely accepted estimations of renal function may be incorrect resulting in under-dosing of medications. Additional research is required to identify burn patients at greatest risk for ARC and subsequent dosing strategies to maintain pharmacologic efficacy without unduetoxicity.

Aberrant inflammatory responses in intoxicated burn-injured patients parallel impaired cognitive function.

Burn-injured patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have increased morbidity and mortality compared to alcohol-abstaining individuals with similar injuries. It is hypothesized that this is due, in part, to alcohol-induced dysregulation of the systemic inflammatory response, leading to worsened clinical outcomes, including increased susceptibility to infection, and heightened cognitive impairment. To examine the effects of alcohol on inflammatory markers after burn injury, we used multiplex assays to measure a panel of 48 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors in the plasma of burn patents within 24 h of admission to the University of Colorado Burn Center. Thirty patients were enrolled between July 2018 to February 2020 and were stratified based on presence of AUD and total body surface area (TBSA) burn of ≥20% into four groups: [AUD-, TBSA <20%, N = 12], [AUD+, TBSA <20%, N = 3], [AUD-, TBSA ≥20%, N = 8], [AUD+, TBSA ≥20%, N = 7]. In addition, Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) scores were collected to evaluate patient delirium during the course of hospitalization. Multivariate statistical analysis demonstrated a number of cytokines and other factors that were significantly different between the groups. For example, the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was dampened in the AUD+, TBSA ≥20% cohort with a 75.2% decrease compared to AUD-, TBSA ≥20%, and an 83.9% decrease compared to AUD-, TBSA <20% (p = 0.008). Additionally, plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory mediator CXCL12 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12, also known as stromal cell-derived factor 1, SDF-1) was higher in the AUD + groups (p = 0.03) and similarly, IL-18 levels were greater in AUD+, TBSA ≥20% (p = 0.009). Eotaxin (also known as cytokine CC motif ligand 11, CCL11) was markedly elevated in the AUD+, TBSA ≥20% cohort with a 2.4-fold increase over the AUD-, TBSA ≥20%, and a 1.7-fold rise compared to the AUD-, TBSA <20% cohorts (p = 0.04). Interestingly, there was also a marked rise in CAM + delirium scores (85.7%) among the AUD + patients with TBSA ≥20% (p = 0.02). Not surprisingly, we found that hospital stays increased with AUD+ and larger burns (p = 0.0009). Our findings reveal that burn patients who misuse alcohol have aberrant inflammatory responses that may lead to greater immune dysregulation and worse clinical outcomes.

Burn Injury and Augmented Renal Clearance: A Case for Optimized Piperacillin-Tazobactam Dosing.

Patients with burn injuries are at high risk for infection as well as altered antimicrobial pharmacokinetics. Patients suffering from a burn injury, generally encompassing a total body surface area (TBSA) ≥ 20%, have been cited as at risk for augmented renal clearance (ARC). Our case report describes an obese patient with 3.2% TBSA partial thickness burns who suffered from burn wound cellulitis with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Measured CLcr documented the presence of ARC, and 22.5 grams daily continuous infusion of piperacillin-tazobactam was initiated. Therapeutic monitoring of piperacillin at steady state was 78 mcg/mL, achieving the prespecified goal piperacillin concentration of 100% 4-times the minimum inhibitory concentration assuming MIC for susceptible P. aeruginosa at 16/4 mcg/mL per Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Available literature suggests younger critically ill patients with lower organ failure scores, and for a burn injury, a higher percentage of TBSA, are most likely to exhibit ARC which does not entirely align with the characteristics of our patient. In addition, piperacillin-tazobactam has been associated with altered pharmacokinetics in ARC, burn, and obese populations, demonstrating failure to meet target attainment with standard doses. We suggest a continuous infusion of piperacillin-tazobactam be used when ARC is identified. This case report describes the unique findings of ARC in a non-critically ill burn patient and rationalizes the need for further prospective research to classify incidence, risk factors, and appropriate antimicrobial regimens for burn patients with ARC.

Age and Injury Size Influence the Magnitude of Fecal Dysbiosis in Adult Burn Patients.

Clinical studies have demonstrated that age 50 years or older is an independent risk factor associated with poor prognosis after burn injury, the second leading cause of traumatic injuries in the aged population. While mechanisms driving age-dependent postburn mortality are perplexing, changes in the intestinal microbiome, may contribute to the heightened, dysregulated systemic response seen in aging burn patients. The fecal microbiome from 22 patients admitted to a verified burn center from July 2018 to February 2019 was stratified based on the age of 50 years and total burn surface area (TBSA) size of ≥10%. Significant differences (P = .014) in overall microbiota community composition (ie, beta diversity) were measured across the four patient groups: young <10% TBSA, young ≥10% TBSA, older <10% TBSA, and older ≥10% TBSA. Differences in beta diversity were driven by %TBSA (P = .013) and trended with age (P = .087). Alpha diversity components, richness, evenness, and Shannon diversity were measured. We observed significant differences in bacterial species evenness (P = .0023) and Shannon diversity (P = .0033) between the groups. There were significant correlations between individual bacterial species and levels of short-chain fatty acids. Specifically, levels of fecal butyrate correlated with the presence of Enterobacteriaceae, an opportunistic gut pathogen, when elevated in burn patients lead to worsen outcomes. Overall, our findings reveal that age-specific changes in the fecal microbiome following burn injuries may contribute to immune system dysregulation in patients with varying TBSA burns and potentially lead to worsened clinical outcomes with heightened morbidity and mortality.

Remote Delivery of Thrombolytics Prior to Transfer to a Regional Burn Center for Tissue Salvage in Frostbite: A Single-center Experience of 199 Patients.

While much has been published on the efficacy and safety of systemic thrombolytics in the treatment of acute frostbite, there has been limited investigation into administration outside a tertiary care setting. Here, we present a single-center experience with remote initiation of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) at referring hospitals prior to transfer to a regional burn center. A modified Hennepin Quantification Score based on tissue involvement was used to determine eligibility for tPA and to quantify the severity of amputation. This is a retrospective review of patients with acute frostbite of the digits admitted to a single verified burn center over a 5-yr period. Of 199 patient admissions, 40 received tPA remotely pre-transfer, 32 received tPA on admission to our institution, and 127 patients did not qualify for tPA therapy according to the protocol. Comparing patients who required any amputation (n = 99, 49.7%) to those who did not, patients who received remote tPA had lower odds of any amputation compared to both those receiving tPA at our institution (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.65, P = 0.01) and the group receiving no tPA (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.05-0.40, P < 0.001) after controlling for confounders. Only one patient receiving pre-transfer tPA according to the protocol (2.3%) had a significant bleeding event requiring transfusion. These results support the protocolized use of thrombolytic therapy for frostbite prior to transfer to a tertiary center.

Early Palliative Care Consultation in the Burn Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Utilization.

Despite significant morbidity and mortality for major burns, palliative care consultation (PCC) is underutilized in this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a protocol using recommended "triggers" for PCC at a single academic burn center. This is a retrospective review of patient deaths over a 4-year period. The use of life-sustaining treatments, comfort care (de-escalation of one or more life-sustaining treatments), and do not attempt resuscitation (DNAR) orders were determined. The use of PCC was compared during periods before and after a protocol establishing recommended triggers for early (<72 hours of admission) PCC was instituted in 2019. A total of 33 patient deaths were reviewed. Most patients were male (n = 28, 85%) and median age was 62 years [IQR: 42-72]. Median-revised Baux score was 112 [IQR: 81-133]. Many patients had life-sustaining interventions such as intubation, dialysis, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, often prior to admission. Amongst patients who survived >24 hours, 67% (n = 14/21) had PCC. Frequency of PCC increased after protocol development, with 100% vs 36% of these patients having PCC before death (P = .004). However, even during the later period, less than half of patients had early PCC despite meeting criteria at admission. In conclusion, initiation of life-sustaining measures in severely injured burn patients occurs prior to or early during hospitalization. Thus, value-based early goals of care discussions are valuable to prevent interventions that do not align with patient values and assist with de-escalation of life-sustaining treatment. In this small sample, we found that while there was increasing use of PCC overall after developing a protocol of recommended triggers for consultation, many patients who met criteria at admission did not receive early PCC. Further research is needed to elucidate reasons why providers may be resistant to PCC.

Triage and Transfer to a Regional Burn Center-Impact of a Mobile Phone App.

Telemedicine technology can be used to facilitate consultations from nonburn-trained referring providers. However, there is a paucity of evidence indicating these technologies influence transfer decisions and follow-up care. In 2016, our regional burn center implemented a mobile phone app, which allows a referring provider to send photos of the wound along with basic demographic and clinical data to the burn specialist. A retrospective review was performed on consults to our regional burn center from a Level I trauma center approximately 70 miles away with a shared electronic medical record. Patients were considered to be "down-triaged" if they could be managed locally or if the transfer could occur via personal vehicle instead of ground or air ambulance transport. During the 2-year study period, 126 consultations were made for thermal injuries. Eighty-seven patients (69%) were referred using the Burn App. Overall, 49 patients (39%) were transferred. When the subset of intermediate size (1-10% TBSA) burns were considered (n = 48), the Burn App allowed for successful "down-triage" of 12 patients (33%) referred through the app. No patient referred without the app could be "down-triaged" (P = .02). Although 57 patients (44%) were recommended for outpatient follow-up, only 42% followed up. A mobile app can be used to successfully triage patients with intermediate size burn injuries to a lower acuity of follow-up and transfer mode. However, only a minority of patients triaged to outpatient management actually follow up with a regional burn center. Telemedicine efforts should focus on improving not only initial triage, but also aftercare.