Poloxamer-188 improves capillary blood flow and tissue viability in a cutaneous burn wound

After cutaneous burn injury, an area of tissue 1-2 min thick surrounding th e wound is the site of a pronounced inflammatory response where blood flow is reduced. This "zone of stasis" undergoes progressive necrosis within 24- 48 h, resulting in an expansion of the burn wound. Poloxamer-188 (P-188) is a surfactant that has been shown to prevent cell death due to electrical i njury in vivo and heat shock in vitro. In this study, we investigated the e ffect of P-188 on blood flow within and around a burn wound and on the expa nsion of the wound area within 24 h after administration of a full-thicknes s burn injury. Results show that immediately (0-2 h) after the burn, red bl ood cell speed decreased to zero in a zone extending up to 1 min from the c enter of the burn in both P-188 (200 mg/kg)- and saline (0.9%)-treated anim als. Between 1 and 3 min from the center of the burn, red blood cell speed decreased to 50% of preburn levels in saline controls (n = 5), while no dec rease occurred in P-188-treated animals (n = 5). Beyond 3 min from the cent er of the burn, red blood speed was equal to the preburn levels in saline c ontrols, while it increased by about 10% in P-188 animals. Twenty-four hour s after administration of burn, the "zero red blood cell speed zone," terme d as the zone of coagulation, became smaller in P-188-treated animals, with an area of 2.4 +/- 0.5 mm(2) (n = 5) compared to 3.5 +/- 0.5 mm(2) (n = 4) in saline controls (P < 0.01). These results suggest that P-188 prevented the formation of a zone of stasis within 24 h after the burn injury and red uced the area of coagulation observed 24 h after cutaneous burn injury. (C) 2001 Academic Press.