ABERRANT LEVELS OF CYTOKINES WITHIN THE HEALING WOUND AFTER BURN INJURY

Objective: To study the effect of a burn injury on the course of cellu lar and cytokine changes in a wound and the relationship of these cyto kines to the amounts of protein and collagen deposited at the site of the wound. Design: A randomized control trial was done in which one gr oup of rats were subjected to a severe burn injury. With the use of a sponge matrix model, the wound-healing parameters were evaluated. Mate rials: A random sample of eight inbred albino Oxford rats per group we re used in all. experiments. Interventions: Rats were subjected to a s evere scald injury. Polyvinyl sponges were used as the wound-healing m odel. Main Outcome Measure: The obtained results implied that the woun d-heating process is impaired after a severe burn injury. Results: The wounds in these animals with burn injuries contained a lower number a nd an altered type of infiltrating cells with aberrant levels of cytok ines, higher levels of interleukin-6, and lower levels of tumor necros is factor and interleukin-1 in the fluids of the wounds. The parameter s of healing (amounts of protein and collagen deposited at the site of the wound) were significantly lower in animals with burn injuries on days 7 and 14. Conclusion: The underlying mechanism of the impaired he aling of a wound after burn injury could lie in the altered migration of inflammatory cells to the site of the wound and in the aberrant cyt okine levels within the wound.