Burn Shock and Resuscitation: Review and State of the Science

Burn shock and acute fluid resuscitation continue to spark intense interest and debate among burn clinicians. Following a major burn injury, fluid resuscitation of burn shock is life-saving, but paradoxically can also be a source of increased morbidity and mortality because of the unintended consequence of systemic edema formation. Considerable research over the past two decades has been devoted to understanding the mechanisms of edema formation, and to develop strategies to curb resuscitation fluids and limit edema development. Recognition of burn endotheliopathy - injury to the endothelium's glycocalyx layer- is one of the most important recent developments in our understanding of burn shock pathophysiology. Newer monitoring approaches and resuscitation endpoints, along with alternative resuscitation strategies to crystalloids alone, such as administration of albumin, or plasma, or high dose ascorbic acid, have had mixed results in limiting fluid creep. Clear demonstration of improvements in outcomes with all of these approaches remains elusive. This comprehensive review article on burn shock and acute resuscitation accompanies the American Burn Association's State of the Science meeting held in New Orleans, LA on November 2-3, 2021 and the Proceedings of that conference published in this journal.