Imen Rahmani

The goal of this study was to analyse plasma procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations during infectious events of burns in ICU. We conducted a prospective, observational study in a 20-bed Burn Intensive Care Unit in Tunisia. A total of 121 patients admitted to the Burn ICU were included in our study. Serum PCT was measured over the entire course of stay in patients with predictive signs of sepsis according to the Americain Burn Association Criteria for the presence of infection. Patients were assigned to two groups depending on the clinical course and outcome: Group A = non septic patients; Group B = septic patients. A PCT cutoff value of 0,69 ng/ml for sepsis prediction was associated with the optimal combination of sensitivity (89%), specificity (85%), positive predictive value (82%) and negative predictive value (88%). Serum procalcitonin levels can be used as an early indicator of septic complication in patients with severe burn injuries as well as in monitoring the response to antimicrobial therapy.

Plasma lactate (PL) has been used as a marker of cellular hypoxia and shock. The correlation between PL and clinical outcome has been well accepted in hemorrhagic and septic shock. In contrast to the existing evidence, there are no or almost no data dealing with lactate and burn-related outcome. We attempted to assess whether early plasma lactate (PL) is a useful parameter to predict outcome in burned patients. A prospective study was conducted in a 20-bed adult burn ICU at a university-affiliated teaching hospital in Tunis. Patients admitted within the first 24h post burn with greater than 10% total body surface area (TBSA) burned were enrolled in the study. There were 60 males and 20 females. Mean age was 40.7 ± 19.5 years old, and average TBSA was 32 ± 21%. At admission, 86.7% patients had an initial lactate value of more than 2 mmol/L. In our study, an initial lactate value of 4 mmol/L provided the best sensitivity and specificity: 88% and 79% respectively for predicting sepsis, with an area under the ROC curve of 0,82. Furthermore, plasma lactate cut-off value for mortality prediction was 4.46 mmol/l with a good sensitivity (86%) and specificity (92%). Mortality rate was 36.25%. Plasma lactate appears to be a powerful predictor biomarker of sepsis and mortality in burn patients.

Burns induce complex physiological changes such as modification of distribution volume, increased clearance of elements and decrease of protein binding. The pharmacokinetics of many antibiotics may then be modified, which requires dose adjustment. We attempted to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of linezolid in burn patients at a standard dose of 600 mg intravenously thrice a day. A prospective study was conducted in a 20-bed adult burn ICU at a university-affiliated teaching hospital in Tunis. Thirteen adult burned patients with documented and/or suspected multi drug resistant (MDR) gram-positive bacterium-related infections were enrolled in the study. Our study suggests that linezolid dosing at 600mg thrice a day leads to adequate pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic exposure to linezolid with a Cmin > 2mg/l in 84.6% of cases, T > MIC in about 87.5% and AUC/MIC > 100 in 61.5% of cases. However, a high variability in linezolid serum concentrations with a substantial percentage of sub-therapeutic levels was observed in a few patients, 15% of cases. Therefore, therapeutic drug monitoring of linezolid might be helpful for adequate dosing of linezolid in burned patients, to avoid the risk of treatment failure or of dose-dependent toxicity.

In this study, we attempted to assess whether the early plasma lactate (PL) level is a useful biomarker to predict septic complications and outcome in burn patients.

Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) is frequent in the ICU and has been associated with adverse outcomes and worse prognosis. The purpose of our study was to assess risk factors for IAH and prognosis of major injured patients during burn resuscitation.