Protocol for the development of a core indicator set for reporting burn wound infection in trials: ICon-B study.

INTRODUCTION: Systematic reviews of high-quality randomised controlled trials are necessary to identify effective interventions to impact burn wound infection (BWI) outcomes. Evidence synthesis requires that BWI is reported in a consistent manner. Cochrane reviews investigating interventions for burns report that the indicators used to diagnose BWI are variable or not described, indicating a need to standardise reporting. BWI is complex and diagnosed by clinician judgement, informed by patient-reported symptoms, clinical signs, serum markers of inflammation and bacteria in the wound. Indicators for reporting BWI should be important for diagnosis, frequently observed in patients with BWI and assessed as part of routine healthcare. A minimum (core) set of indicators of BWI, reported consistently, will facilitate evidence synthesis and support clinical decision-making. AIMS: The Infection Consensus in Burns study aims to identify a core indicator set for reporting the diagnosis of BWI in research studies. METHODS: (1) Evidence review: a systematic review of indicators used in trials and observational studies reporting BWI outcomes to identify a long list of candidate indicators; (2) refinement of the long list into a smaller set of survey questions with an expert steering group; (3) a two-round Delphi survey with 100 multidisciplinary expert stakeholders, to achieve consensus on a short list of indicators; (4) a consensus meeting with expert stakeholders to agree on the BWI core indicator set. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Participants will be recruited through professional bodies, such that ethical approval from the National Health Service (NHS) Health Research Authority (HRA) is not needed. The core indicator set will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, co-production with journal editors, research funders and professional bodies, and presentation at national conferences. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018096647.

Genetic influence on scar height and pliability after burn injury in individuals of European ancestry: A prospective cohort study.

After similar extent of injury there is considerable variability in scarring between individuals, in part due to genetic factors. This study aimed to identify genetic variants associated with scar height and pliability after burn injury. An exome-wide array association study and gene pathway analysis were performed on a prospective cohort of 665 patients treated for burn injury. Outcomes were scar height (SH) and scar pliability (SP) sub-scores of the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS). DNA was genotyped using the Infinium® HumanCoreExome-24 BeadChip. Associations between genetic variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and SH and SP were estimated using an additive genetic model adjusting for age, sex, number of surgical procedures and % total body surface area of burn in subjects of European ancestry. No individual genetic variants achieved the cut-off threshold of significance. Gene regions were analysed for spatially correlated single nucleotide polymorphisms and significant regions identified using comb-p software. This gene list was subject to gene pathway analysis to find which biological process terms were over-represented. Using this approach biological processes related to the nervous system and cell adhesion were the predominant gene pathways associated with both SH and SP. This study suggests genes associated with innervation may be important in scar fibrosis. Further studies using similar and larger datasets will be essential to validate these findings.