EARLY PLASMA AMINO-ACID POOL ALTERATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH MILITARY GUNSHOT MISSILE WOUNDS

Plasma amino acid profiles in patients during the early period (first 18 hours) following military gunshot/missile wounds were investigated, Patients (n = 29) were casualties from the war in the former Yugoslav ia with injury severity scores ranging from 4 to 18, They were divided into three groups: soft tissue (muscle) damage, wounds with fractures , and vital structures injured, Controls were normal blood donors (n = 17), Free amino acids were analyzed in venous plasma, Increased conce ntrations of phenylalanine and glutamine associated with increased mol ar phenylalanine/tyrosine ratio in plasma indicated increased net prot ein catabolism in the peripheral tissues, regardless of the type of in jured tissues, Decreased plasma arginine, ornithine and citrulline lev els, accompanied with increased molar glutamine/valine ratio, suggeste d disturbance in urea cycle activity, although urea level was not alte red, We concluded that early changes in plasma amino acid pool charact eristics after wounds were of systemic origin, not related to the type of injured tissues.