Citation

Romero SA, Moralez G, Jaffery MF, Huang M, Crandall CG. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 2018; 315(5): R1054-R1060.

Affiliation

Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, UT Southwestern, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Physiological Society)

DOI

10.1152/ajpregu.00188.2018

PMID

30256680

Abstract

The effect of severe burn injury on vascular health is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that, compared with non-burn control subjects, vasodilator function would be reduced and that pulse wave velocity (a measure of arterial stiffness) would be increased in individuals with prior burn injuries, the extent of which would be associated with the magnitude of body surface area having sustained a severe burn injury. Pulse wave velocity, macro- (flow-mediated dilation) and microvascular (reactive hyperemia) dilator functions were assessed in 14 non-burned control subjects and 32 age-matched subjects with well-healed burn injuries. Fifteen subjects with burn injuries covering 17-40% body surface area were assigned to a moderate burn injury group and 17 subjects with burn injuries covering >40% body surface area were assigned to a high burn injury group. Pulse wave velocity (central, P = 0.3; peripheral, P = 0.3) did not differ between the three groups. Compared with the control group, macrovascular dilator function was reduced in the moderate burn injury group (P = 0.07) and high burn injury group (P < 0.05). Likewise, peak vascular conductance during post-occlusive reactive hyperemia, differed from the moderate burn injury group (P = 0.08 vs. control) and the high burn injury group (P < 0.05 vs. control). These data suggest that vasodilator function is impaired in well-healed burn injury survivors, the extent of which is not dependent on the magnitude of body surface area having sustained a severe burn injury.

Language: en

Keywords

burn inury; flow-mediated dilation; reactive hyperemia