Diabetes mellitus and burns. Part I-basic science and implications for management

The number of diabetic patients presenting to burn services is predicted to increase significantly over the next decades. Diabetes mellitus represents an independent risk factor for sustaining burn injuries and mediates alterations to key physiological systems including the vascular, renal, nervous, gastrointestinal and immune system. The effects of the pathophysiological permutations need to be carefully considered during both the acute as well as the long-term rehabilitation phase of injury. The purpose of the first part of this review is to outline the metabolic permutations observed in diabetes mellitus pertinent to the clinical presentation and management of burn patients.