MedPath

Microbiome Changes in Severe Burns

Completed
Conditions
Burns
Burns Greater Than 20% BSAB
Registration Number
NCT03130868
Lead Sponsor
HealthPartners Institute
Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is characterizing changes in the microbiome of severely-injured adult patients as they progress through stages of injury, reconstruction, and recovery from burns.

Detailed Description

There exists a vast collection of bacteria that live on, and within, each human body. All surfaces exposed to the external environment, such as the nares, mouth, airway, skin, and intestines, are colonized, and it is estimated that over 100 trillion microbes live within the gastrointestinal tract alone. The interactions between these colonizers and their host have been demonstrated to affect myriad aspects of human health from autism and inflammatory bowel disease to cancer therapy response. Investigations into the role of the intestinal microbiome in sepsis have been ongoing for decades. Data has shown that critically ill patients can not only experience increased intestinal permeability - a factor that allows for the translocation of bacteria and non-microbial tissue injurious factors into the, primarily lymphatic, circulation, but also a disruption of the symbiotic relationship to one of dysbiosis, resulting in what is known as a "pathobiome."

That the microbiome is affected by thermal injury should be no surprise; burn injury has been shown to drive significant intestinal ischemia and inflammation with subsequently increased intestinal permeability. , Burn-induced lung injury has been linked to these changes, and alterations in the microbiome between critically-burned patients (when compared with healthy controls) have been demonstrated, with resultant overgrowth of gram-negative anaerobes. Thus, the microbiome has a clear role in affecting the clinical course of thermally-injured patients.

This is a descriptive case series study examining microbiome changes in two adult patients admitted with severe burn injuries. This will be done by obtaining regular stool samples and analyzing the microbial content, as well as obtaining clinical data on patients including those factors likely to influence the microbial content.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2
Inclusion Criteria
  • sustained greater than or equal to 20% body surface area of the body (BSAB)
Exclusion Criteria
  • pre-existing clinical infections
  • historical evidence of gastrointestinal disease such as Ulcerative Colitis
  • Crohn's disease
  • Celiac disease
  • historical evidence of gastrointestinal Clostridium difficile infection
  • no anti-biotic use for 3 months prior to admission
  • AIDS
  • immune suppressing medications or metastasized cancer
  • peritonitis
  • non English-speaking

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
microbial diversity of stool samplesup to 6 months

We will be analyzing the stool composition at the phyla level, looking at the percentages of the five major phyla - Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Acitonobacteria, and Fusobacteria

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Regions Hospital

🇺🇸

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath