title: Poloxamer-188 improves capillary blood flow and tissue viability in a cutaneous burn wound.
abstract: After cutaneous burn injury, an area of tissue 1-2 mm thick surrounding the wound is the site of a pronounced inflammatory response where blood flow is reduced. This "zone of stasis" undergoes progressive necrosis within 24-48 h, resulting in an expansion of the burn wound. Poloxamer-188 (P-188) is a surfactant that has been shown to prevent cell death due to electrical injury in vivo and heat shock in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effect of P-188 on blood flow within and around a burn wound and on the expansion of the wound area within 24 h after administration of a full-thickness burn injury. Results show that immediately (0-2 h) after the burn, red blood cell speed decreased to zero in a zone extending up to 1 mm from the center of the burn in both P-188 (200 mg/kg)- and saline (0.9%)-treated animals. Between 1 and 3 mm from the center of the burn, red blood cell speed decreased to 50% of preburn levels in saline controls (n = 5), while no decrease occurred in P-188-treated animals (n = 5). Beyond 3 mm from the center of the burn, red blood speed was equal to the preburn levels in saline controls, while it increased by about 10% in P-188 animals. Twenty-four hours after administration of burn, the "zero red blood cell speed zone," termed as the zone of coagulation, became smaller in P-188-treated animals, with an area of 2.4 +/- 0.5 mm(2) (n = 5) compared to 3.5 +/- 0.5 mm(2) (n = 4) in saline controls (P < 0.01). These results suggest that P-188 prevented the formation of a zone of stasis within 2 h after the burn injury and reduced the area of coagulation observed 24 h after cutaneous burn injury.
authors.affiliation: Center for Engineering in Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baskaran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toner
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yarmush
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthiaume
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D020442:Poloxamer / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014022:Tissue Survival
chemical_list: D020442:Poloxamer