Reduced serum total reductive capacity in lethal severe trauma.
BACKGROUND
Risk assessment is a prerequisite for effective treatment and triage in severe injury. A novel substrate-based assay to measure total reductive capacity (TORC) in serum was used to stratify risk of lethal outcome in severe trauma in a clinical trial.


METHODS
Serum of patients with severe trauma (Injury Severity Score > 19) was obtained at the accident site, at admission, and at regular intervals thereafter. TORC was determined and correlated to outcome. The TORC assay uses thiol-labeled arachidonic acid as substrate from which free thiols are released by reductive amino acids and the specific activity of phospholipase A2. Free thiols are coupled to monochrombimone, and the resulting fluorescence is proportional to TORC.


RESULTS
Eighteen patients with lethal severe trauma and 16 patients who survived were studied. Injury Severity Scores (lethal, 33 (29--43); survival, 31 (25--42); p = NS) and Polytrauma Scores (lethal, 25 [18--32]; survival, 26 [23--31], p = NS) were not significantly different. At the accident site, patients with a lethal course had significantly lower TORC than nonlethal cases (59.2 +/- 5.1 ng/mL vs. 89.5 +/- 6.7 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Values at admission were similar (lethal, 51.2 +/- 7 ng/mL; survival, 73.8 +/- 9 ng/mL; p < 0.01). At the accident site and at admission, TORC < 82.3 ng/mL was prognostic of lethal outcome (sensitivity, 88%; specificity, 65%/73% and 69%, respectively, for admission).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum reductive potential at the site of accident or at admission allows the stratification of trauma patients with respect to lethal outcome in severe trauma when severity scores fail to do so.
Mayer
J M
JM
Department of General Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Marzinzig
M
M
Kinzl
L
L
Brückner
U
U
Gebhard
F
F
Beger
H G
HG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005470:Fluorometry; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000097:blood*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014218:Triage
D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds