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Systemic long-term metabolic effects of acute non-severe paediatric burn injury

Sofina Begum1,2,3,4, Blair Z Johnson5, Aude-Claire Morillon4

  • 1Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.

Scientific Reports
|July 29, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Children with previous non-severe burns show altered metabolism years later. These immunometabolic changes may explain long-term health issues and increased infection risk in pediatric burn survivors.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Metabolomics
  • Pediatric Medicine

Background:

  • Non-severe thermal trauma can trigger systemic responses, leading to immunosuppression in children.
  • This immunosuppression increases the risk of poor recovery and secondary health problems in pediatric patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-term systemic effects of non-severe burns in children.
  • To identify specific metabolic alterations persisting years after burn injury.

Main Methods:

  • Targeted mass spectrometry was used to analyze plasma samples from pediatric burn survivors (at least 3 years post-injury) and healthy controls.
  • Biogenic amines and tryptophan metabolites were quantified.

Main Results:

  • Children with a history of burns had significantly higher concentrations of 12 metabolites, including urea cycle intermediates, aromatic amino acids, and quinolinic acid.
  • Correlation analysis revealed cytokine-metabolite associations in burn survivors, absent in controls, suggesting sustained immune-metabolic interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Non-severe burn trauma leaves a lasting immunometabolic imprint in children.
  • These persistent metabolic changes may underlie long-term immune dysregulation and adverse health outcomes in pediatric burn survivors.

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