Improved survival in severely burned animals using intravenous Corynebacterium parvum vaccine post injury

This study was designed to determine the potential benefit or toxicity of an immunomodulator, Corynebacterium parvum vaccine, when it is given after severe burn injury. Forty conditioned beagles received a 33% total body surface 3-degree flame burn and were resuscitated with Ringer's lactate solution (3 ml/kg/% burn). Wounds were treated daily for 10 days with silver sulfadiazine cream. Two days and nine days after burn, 21 of the animals received C. parvum vaccine (10 mg/kg IV) in a saline infusion, while 19 control animals were given only saline infusion according to a double-blind protocol. Serial measurements were made of temperature, weight, food intake, hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood count, white blood count, differential, platelet count, fibrin degradation products, activated partial thromboplastin time, clot retraction, C3, blood cultures, neutrophil function, monocyte function, opsonic index, Na, K, Cl, BUN, glucose creatinine, total protein albumin, albumin/globulin ratio, alkaline phosphatase, SGPT, and SGOT. During 45 days of observation, only 16% of the saline control dogs survived compared to 47% of the treated animals. Total white counts and neutrophil function were the only values which were significantly better in animals receiving C. parvum. However, their correlation with increased survival was marginal This preclinical trial suggests that C. parvum is an effective immunodulator for prevention of fatal infection following burn injury. There were no demonstrable toxic effects of the material in this study.