Bone markers during acute burn care: Relevance to clinical practice?

Bone changes are increasingly described after burn. How bone markers could help to detect early bone changes or to screen burn patients at higher risk of demineralization is still not made clear. We performed an observational study assessing the changes in serum bone markers after moderate burn.

Adults admitted in the first 24h following burn extended on >10% body surface area were included. Serum levels of collagen type 1 cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTX), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRAP), type 1 procollagen N-terminal (P1NP) and bone alkaline phosphatase (b-ALP) were measured at admission and every week during the first month. Data are expressed as median [min-max].

Bone markers were measured in 20 patients: 18 men, 2 women (including one post-menopausal). Age was 46 [19-86] years old, burn surface area reached 15 [7-85] %. Twelve patients completed the study. All biomarkers mainly remained into normal ranges during evolution. A huge variability was observed regarding biomarkers evolution. Patient's evolution was not linear and could fluctuate from a decrease to an increase of blood concentrations. There was not necessarily a consistency between the two formation or the two resorption markers. Variations observed between two consecutive measurements were lesser than the accepted critical difference in almost one third of the cases.

Considering available data, role and interest of bone markers in management of burn related bone disease remain unclear.