Test predicts sepsis following burns
Thursday June 30th, 2016
A new test could help clinicians identify burns victims at risk of developing sepsis, according to researchers in Birmingham.
The researchers say the test uses three biomarkers of neutrophil function - and can be undertaken on the day of injury.
They have reported their findings in the Annals of Surgery.
They say the test has shown 98.6% accuracy in identifying patients who went on to suffer life-threatening systemic infections.
They propose a further trial to see if prompt use of antibiotics can reduce the incident of sepsis in patients found to be at risk.
The research that developed the test involved some 63 patients admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK, with an average of 39% burns.
The researchers studied IG count, neutrophil phagocytosis and plasma cell free DNA.
Mr Naiem Moiemen, director of the Birmingham Centre for Burns Research and a consultant in burns and plastics, said: "The researchers have shown that burn patients who may suffer life threatening systemic infections, which occur in 30% of major burns at around day six following their injury, could be identified with a 98.6% certainty.
“Burn patients who suffer systemic infection have a high probability of non-surviving their injury. This discovery will enable the clinicians to stratify the care of these patients and improve their outcomes.”
Researcher Professor Janet Lord, of Birmingham University, said: "The majority of clinical studies report negative cultures in as many as 40% of severe sepsis patients - so many cases will be missed. As such, the identification of novel, accurate biomarkers is crucial.”
She added: “Our data showed that IG count could accurately discriminate between septic and non-septic patients, even with the complications that systemic inflammatory response syndrome has caused for other potential biomarkers.
"In addition to this, when we used a combination of two or more of our biomarkers, the discriminatory power was further enhanced.”
Neutrophil Dysfunction, Immature Granulocytes, and Cell-free DNA are Early Biomarkers of Sepsis in Burn-injured Patients: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study Annals of Surgery 26 May 2016; doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000001807
Tags: A&E | Dermatology | UK News
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