AN ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT OF MASSIVE BURNS - SKIN ALLOGRAFTS AND CYCLOSPORINE IMMUNOSUPPRESSION WITHOUT SEVERE ADDITIONAL DEPRESSION OF CELL-MEDIATED-IMMUNITY IN AN ANIMAL-MODEL

This study investigated the effects of early excision of eschar and gr afting with cyclosporin immunosuppression on immunological changes fol lowing burn injury. The immunological status of the rat was studied us ing two in vivo measures following a (30 per cent TBSA) full skin thic kness burn injury. Cyclosporin was found to be a powerful immunosuppre ssive agent in skin transplantation, and its risks, efficacy and possi ble subjects after thermal injury have been investigated. This study d emonstrated that a large burn was profoundly immunosuppressive, and ea rly excision and grafting was able to restore cell-mediated immunity s ignificantly as reflected by two in vivo assays. The short course of t he immunosuppressive treatment to delay skin allograft rejection did n ot cause a severe additional effect on cell-mediated immunity after th ermal injury. Allograft survival appeared to be related to immunosuppr ession caused mainly by cyclosporin treatment and also by the immunosu ppressive effect of the burn.