Low plasma fibronectin indicates septicaemia in major burns.

Plasma fibronectin was measured by laser nephelometry in 23 patients with 20--85% burns. Control measurements were made in 118 healthy blood donors aged 18--60 years. The reference level was significantly higher in the 72 males (mean +/- SD = 377 +/- 70 mg/l) than in the 46 females (327 +/- 55 mg/l). In the burn-injured patients the mean fibronectin concentration was significantly lower than the reference values for one week after the injury. All the patients had low concentrations, about 70% of their respective reference means, in the first 24 hours after the injury. When burn treatment was successful, the fibronectin thereafter increased, gradually exceeding the reference level. Patients with septic complications, by contrast, showed further reduction of fibronectin levels. In the patients who died, the fibronectin concentration 6--10 days after burn injury was significantly less than in the patients who survived. On the basis of these results, repeated analysis of plasma fibronectin in the early postburn period is recommended. Persistent fibronectin deficiency then is an indicator of imminent septicaemia, vital organ failure and risk of fatal outcome.

The effect of severe trauma on muscle energy metabolism in man.

Muscle energy metabolism after severe trauma was studied in four nutritionally isocaloric groups of patients, receiving different amounts of glucose, fat and nitrogen. Muscle biopsy was performed 2, 4, 8 and 30 days after trauma. The pattern of energy metabolites was similar in all groups. Adenosine triphosphate was decreased on day 8, with further fall on day 30. Phosphoryl-creatine was reduced from day 2 onwards. Concomitant creatine increase gave a constant total creatine pool up to day 8 post-trauma. Lactate was increased and glycogen moderately decreased. The single exception to the pattern was greater increment of lactate and maintenance of glycogen levels in the specimens from groups with high glucose intake. The reduction in high-energy phosphates could have resulted from impaired substrate utilization or rapid degradation of tissue energy stores. The glucose and the lipid system were equally effective in supporting the cellular energy status after severe trauma.

Prevention of soccer injuries. Supervision by doctor and physiotherapist.

To study the efficacy of an injury prevention program in a randomized trial, 12 teams (180 players) in a male senior soccer division were followed up for 6 months. The 12 teams were allocated at random to two groups of six teams, one being given a prophylactic program and the other serving as control. The program was based on previous studies of injury mechanisms. It comprised (1) correction of training, (2) provision of optimum equipment; (3) prophylactic ankle taping; (4) controlled rehabilitation; (5) exclusion of players with grave knee instability; (6) information about the importance of disciplined play and the increased risk of injury at training camps; and (7) correction and supervision by doctor(s) and physiotherapist(s). The injuries in the test teams were 75% fewer than in the controls. The most common types of soccer injuries, sprains and strains to ankles and knees, were all significantly reduced. It is concluded that the proposed prophylactic program, including close supervision and correction by doctors and physiotherapists, significantly reduces soccer injuries.

Urinary excretion of carnitine in multiply injured patients on different regimens of total parenteral nutrition.

Carnitine derives from intake of preformed exogenous carnitine and synthesis from lysine and methionine, but is absent in parenteral fluids. Urinary excretions of carnitine and its derivatives was measured in 30 patients 2-8 days after severe multiple injuries and compared with controls. The patients received five different isocaloric parenteral nutritional regimens;group 1 glucose and fat, group 2 glucose, fat and amino acids, group 3 glucose and insulin, group 4 glucose and amino acids, and group 5 branched-chain amino acids. The mean total carnitine excretion in healthy men was 420 mumol/24 h +/- 57 (SEM), and in women 266 mumol/24 h +/- 29, 41% of which was free carnitine. Mean excretion of total carnitine during days 2-8 after trauma for the five groups was: 900 +/- 100, 1169 +/- 112, 1251 +/- 102, 1023 +/- 117, and 668 +/- 128 mumol/24 h, being significantly higher in groups 1-4 than in healthy men. The free carnitine fraction in the patients was significantly higher than in controlled healthy subjects. Total carnitine excretion was unaffected by different nutritional regimens in the very first days. During days 6-8, group 5, receiving branched-chain amino acids had lower excretion of total carnitine (compared to groups 2-4) and free carnitine (compared to groups 3-4). Groups 3 and 4 excreted a higher percentage as free carnitine compared to the other groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Incidence of soccer injuries and their relation to training and team success.

One hundred-eighty players in a male soccer senior division of 12 teams were observed prospectively for 1 year to study the risk of soccer injuries in relation to exposure and to establish the connection between training, injuries, and team success. Totally, more than 100 hours of practice were analyzed. All injuries were examined by the same orthopaedic surgeon. On the average, each team played 36 games and had 95 practice sessions with 66% attendance of selected players. A direct correlation was noted between team success and the amount of training. Teams with more than average training showed a diminishing number of injuries. A high practice-to-game ratio seems to be advantageous. One injury every third game and every ninth practice session was documented. For the individual player the incidence of injury was 7.6/1000 practice hours and 16.9/1000 game hours. The incidence of injury was higher at training camps. Correlation was noted between the design of the training and the incidence of injuries. The duration of warming up seemed adequate, but its content did not appear to be satisfactory from a clinical point of view. Redesign of the warm-up with more emphasis on flexibility and the addition of a cool-down is suggested to reduce injuries.

Hypophosphataemia and muscle phosphate metabolism in severely injured patients.

Severe trauma is associated with increased expenditure of energy, which leads to heightened cellular requirements for regeneration of high energy phosphates (HEP). The effect of multiple traumata and of burns (18 and 12 patients, respectively) on serum phosphate (S-P) and muscle phosphate metabolism was studied. Blood and muscle samples were obtained 2, 4, 8 and 30 days after the injury. The results of analyses were compared with findings in 14 non-traumatized controls. S-P showed a decrease 2 and 4 days after the injury, despite a phosphate supply of 0.4 mmol/kg BW/day. Reduction of HEP and inorganic phosphate of muscle tissue (Pi) was observed on post-trauma days 2, 4, 8 and 30. No correlation was found between Pi and S-P. The fall in S-P, HEP and Pi was not affected by increasing the phosphate supply from 0.4 to 1.0 mmol/kg BW/day. In patients older than 60 years, the reduction of S-P, and adenosine triphosphate was greater than in the younger patients. The results suggest that the S-P decrease was due to loss via the urine and a shift from extracellular to intracellular compartment. The fall in Pi and HEP probably was caused by impaired ability of the cells to utilize the phosphate available in serum, and direct cellular loss of phosphate resulting from hypermetabolism and catabolism.

Urinary excretion of sulfur amino acids and sulfur metabolites in burned patients receiving parenteral nutrition.

The urinary excretion of sulfur-containing compounds was studied in 11 burned patients during the first 10 days after injury. They were all given carbohydrate and fat by parenteral nutrition. Two patients also received large amounts of amino acids including methionine, whereas five patients were given amino acids including moderate amounts of methionine and cysteine. A sustained high excretion of mercaptolactate occurred in most patients. The excretion was not influenced by the type of parenteral nutrition, but related to the area of burned skin. A normal excretion of methionine, cyst(e)ine, inorganic sulfate, taurine, mercaptoacetate, thiosulfate, and thiocyanate was found at the end of the observation period in patients without amino acid therapy. Increased amounts of inorganic sulfate and methionine were excreted in patients receiving high doses of methionine, whereas an increased cyst(e)ine and taurine excretion was the most prominent finding in patients receiving moderate amounts of methionine and cysteine. These results indicate that burned patients have an unimpaired ability to metabolize sulfur amino acids. Patients not receiving amino acids or receiving moderate amounts of cysteine and methionine showed a negative sulfur balance, whereas patients given high doses of methionine maintained sulfur balance at near-zero levels. However, since signs of hepatic dysfunction appeared in the latter group, parenteral nutrition with amino acid mixtures containing high amounts of methionine is not recommended during the catabolic phase for burned patients.

Long-term results after early treatment of knee injuries.

A total of 175 patients were reviewed 1 to 8 years (average 42 months) after treatment of knee ligament injury in the acute stage. Two-thirds were treated operatively because of total ligament tears and the remainder, with minor injuries, were treated non-operatively. In two-thirds of the patients with total substance tear of the anterior cruciate early repair was successful. Repair of the posterior cruciate was generally successful. Functional loss was correlated to the presence of a pivot shift sign and with abduction or adduction instability in extension. An important reason for a poor result was either medial meniscectomy or some component of the injury being missed in the primary diagnosis. Diagnosis based on arthroscopic and clinical findings was more reliable when selecting patients for operative or non-operative treatment than was diagnosis based on clinical examination alone. There was no difference in the results of non-operative treatment between patients immobilized in plaster and those treated with early mobilization without weight-bearing.

Primary fracture immobilization as a method to prevent post-traumatic pulmonary changes- an experimental model.

Post-traumatic pulmonary insufficiency or "respiratory distress syndrome" (RDS) is one of the most feared complications of severe trauma. The aetiology is probably multifactorial, and is obscure. Although modern treatment has reduced the mortality, there is no certain way of preventing the syndrome. The aim of the investigation was to develop an experimental model on anaesthetized pigs subjected to trauma and folllowed up for 3-4 days, still under anaesthesia, the repeated lung X-rays and post-mortem naked-eye and histological examination of lung tissue. 26 pigs were used. 12 (Group I) were subjected to missile trauma of a limb, with a fracture that was left without immobilization. 10 were treated similarly but with immobilization of the fracture (Group II). Four control animals were prepared and observed under anaesthesia but no trauma was inflicted (Group III). In Group I, all but two developed, 10-70 h after the injury, roentgen and morphological changes identical to those seen in patients with clinically documented RDS. No such changes were seen in the controls or in Group II. With our experimental model it seems possible to induce in experimental animals roentgen and morphological changes corresponding to RDS in man. The method provides new means of studying the mechanisms behind and the effects of different forms of treatment in RDS. The results also support the hypothesis that early immobilization of fractures is an important step in preventing RDS.

Metabolic studies in severe burns. Clinical features, routine biochemical analyses, nitrogen balance and metabolic rate.

The effects of two isocaloric regimens for parenteral nutrition were compared on days 2 to 8 after severe burns in 16 patients. Energy expenditure, plasma catecholamines, biochemical variables and N-balance were measured. The 8 patients in group I, with mean burn size 55/25%, received fat and glucose, while the 8 in group II, mean burn size 60/40%, were given 24 g amino acid nitrogen daily in addition to the fat and glucose. The mean metabolic rate on days 2-8 after burning was 70 +/- 7 and 69 +/- 5 kcal/m2/h in groups I and II, respectively. The mean values for plasma noradrenaline in the same period were 8.35 +/- 0.89 and 7.9 +/- 0.77 nmol/l. The biochemical changes showed a pattern typical of burns. There were no intergroup differences except for urea, which was significantly higher in the group (II) receiving amino acids. The cumulative N-balance was markedly less negative 8 days after trauma (-24 g N +/- 8 g) in group II than in group I (-100 g N +/- 10 g). These results indicate that a high nitrogen intake, together with adequate energy supply, improves the N-balance significantly in the early post-burn period. The high-energy supply from fat and glucose did not seem to cause the patients additional stress.

Arthroscopy in the early diagnosis of injuries to the knee joint.

In a series of 192 patients with acute knee injuries the diagnosis at arthroscopy was compared with the clinical diagnosis with or without confirmation at arthrotomy. Arthroscopy was used in 117 cases, clinical examination in 72 cases, and arthrography in 3 cases. All patients presented for diagnosis and treatment within 4 weeks of injury, and most within 1 week. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was torn in 100 cases, and in 92 this was the main injury. The incidence of complete, isolated ACL tear was 1.5 per cent. ACL tear occurred in a higher proportion of cases in the arthroscopy group compared with diagnosis by other methods. An ACL tear was usually combined with injury to the medial ligament complex. Twenty-five patients showed tear of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and in one-third of these there was also injury to the ACL. The medial ligaments were injured in 77 per cent of the whole series and this was the predominant lesion in 57 cases. Tear of the postero-medial capsular ligament (PMCL) was found in more than half of our patients. The ratio lateral/medial meniscus tear was 1:1.6 in the arthroscopy group and 1:27 in the group where arthroscopy was not undertaken. Arthroscopy resulted in an increase in the number of components of injury identified owing to improved diagnosis of tears of the ACL, the PMCL, the lateral meniscus, and possibly also of the PCL. There were no complication or side-effects of arthroscopy. In 93 per cent of cases primary suture was done. Reconstruction was rarely necessary if operation was undertaken within 2 weeks of injury.

Metabolic studies in multiple injured patients. Clinical features, routine chemical analyses and nitrogen balance.

The effect of three different isocaloric parenteral nutritional regimes has been investigated in the early postoperative period in 19 patients with severe multiple injuries. Clinical course, biochemical analyses and nitrogen balance were monitored. The first group received glucose and insulin (n = 7), the second group fat and glucose (n = 6) and the third group fat, glucose and 24 g aminoacid-nitrogen (n = 6). The clinical course was similar in the three groups and all patients survived. The biochemical changes showed a typical pattern for trauma and there were no differences between the groups except for urea, which was significantly higher in the group receiving amino acids. The cumulative nitrogen balance was markedly less negative one week after trauma (-45 g N +/- 8) in the group given amino acids, glucose and fat compared to those given isocaloric amounts of glucose (-84 g N +/- 12) or glucose and fat (-95 g N +/- 10). This improvement in nitrogen balance was probably mainly due to an increase in protein synthesis.

Thyroid function after thermal trauma.

The thyroid function was analyzed for 4-6 weeks in a prospective study of 12 thermally injured patients. The burn size range was 15-90%. Serum concentrations of 3,5,3'-triidothyronine (T3) was suppressed and 3,3',5'-triidothyronine (rT3) was increased. The ratio T3/rT3 was subnormal on the third day after the trauma and normalized after 3 weeks. Thyroxine and the free T4-index were within the normal range. The free T3-index were within the normal range. The TSH concentration was initially low but slowly increasing during the period of study. The concentration of the thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) varied within the normal range. The T3 resin uptake test varied inversely with the TBG concentration. The concentration of thyroxine-binding prealbumin (TBPA) was subnormal. A control experiment excluded possible interference on the hormone concentrations of administered donor blood and plasma. It is concluded that the thyroid hormones are not responsible for the posttraumatic hypermetabolism in burn injury. The present findings further indicate a depletion of metabolically active thyroid hormones at the cellular level after burn injury.

Biochemical changes associated with severe trauma.

The effects of different intravenous nutritional regimens on a number of biochemical indices of nutritional status were studied during the 8-day period following severe trauma. The inclusion of large amounts of amino acids (high nitrogen (N) was shown to greatly improve N balance over an isocaloric regimen containing no amino acids (O g N). The concentration of serum albumin, transferrin, prealbumin, and retinol-binding protein all fell during the study period in both patient groups, whereas the serum concentrations of acute phase reactants and of ribonuclease increased in the two groups. The sum of plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids and the essential amino acids was increased to a greater extent in the high N group. These amino acid totals and the ratio of glycine/valine showed a significant correlation with N balance in this group. Despite the marked difference in N balance, 3-methylhistidine excretion was increased but equal in the two nutritional groups, suggesting an increased rate of muscle protein breakdown in both groups, which appears not to be influenced by amino acid nutrition. It is concluded that N balance can be significantly improved in the immediate posttrauma period by provision of amino acids together with energy substrates. None of the biochemical variables measured, with the exception of plasma levels of essential amino acids, reflected these marked differences in N balance.