Comparison of Albumin and Fresh Frozen Plasma as Colloid Therapy in Patients With Major Burns

Burn injuries are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the world, and burn patients have higher chances of recovery if they are treated with effective fluid and colloid management. Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and albumin suspension used as a colloid treatment agent are very useful for the treatment of severe burns.

This retrospective clinical trial was conducted at the Numune Education and Research Hospital Burn Center, Ankara, Turkey. Two hundred and nine patients who had severe burns that involved more than 30% of their total body surface area (TBSA) were studied. After the first 24 hours, 13 patients were deceased, leaving 196 patients remaining in the study, including 139 patients in the fresh frozen plasma group and 57 patients in the albumin group. Both the fresh frozen plasma and albumin groups received the standard therapy of the burn center, which was based on a standard protocol. Then, these patients were compared according to their clinical findings and mortality.

There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to age, gender, and comorbidities. The laboratory findings, blood, urine, and wound culture results were also similar between groups. The mortality rate was higher in the group receiving albumin than in the group receiving fresh frozen plasma (78.9% and 33.8%, respectively; p=0.0007).

According to this study, there was a significant relationship between the improvement in mortality and the mode of colloid treatment in patients with major burns.