Urine cortisol levels after burn injury

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Trauma Medicine
• Metabolic Research

Background:

• Burn injuries trigger significant physiological stress responses.
• Cortisol is a key stress hormone influencing metabolism.
• Previous studies noted serum cortisol changes post-burn.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify urinary cortisol levels in burn patients.
• To correlate urinary cortisol with burn severity and duration.
• To investigate the role of cortisol in peripheral tissue metabolism post-burn.

Main Methods:

• Assayed urinary cortisol in 19 burn patients over 10 days.
• Compared patient cortisol levels to healthy volunteers.
• Correlated urinary cortisol with burn severity (body surface area) and other urine analytes (creatinine, electrolytes).

Main Results:

• All burn patients showed elevated urinary cortisol initially.
• Higher burn severity correlated with higher mean cortisol levels.
• Urinary cortisol remained elevated for the 10-day study period.
• Cortisol excretion correlated with urine creatinine, magnesium, potassium, and Na:K ratio.

Conclusions:

• Urinary cortisol is elevated post-burn, reflecting systemic stress.
• Cortisol plays a significant role in peripheral tissue catabolism after burns.
• The catabolic drive induced by cortisol persists long after burn injury.