Infection is the leading cause of death following thermal injury. Various indices of fibrinolysis have been found to be disturbed in such patients. This study reports findings in a lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn wound infection in rats, uninfected but burned controls, and preliminary studies in their human counterparts. Sequential studies revealed that as the infected animals neared their demise their plasminogen levels (casemolytic) fell (p < 0.01), serum antiplasmin (method of von Kaulla) but not antiactivator activity rose (p < 0.01), euglobulin lysis times were very prolonged, fibrin-related antigen titers (staphylococcal clumping) were lower and fibrinogen concentrations were slightly higher than in the uninfected-burned controls. Alpha2-acute phase globulins but not α1-macro-globulins (by. K. Ganrot) were 18 times higher in the infected than in uninfected rats. The bacteria did not induce antiplasmin activity when cultured in serum. 3,5-di-todo-salicylic acid Na abolished the antiplasmin activity. Burned patients had no unusual antiplasmin activity on the day of burning but developed high levels coincident with lowered plasminogens.
Estimation of Cytokines Involved in Acute-Phase Wound Infection with Reference to Residence Time of Patients in Hospitals
