Alterations in the insulin-like growth factor system in trauma patients

The aim of the present study was to elucidate changes in the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis in trauma patients throughout their stay in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). The first venous blood sample was obtained within 24 h after admission to the SICU and before the start of nutritional support; the last sample was obtained within 24 h of each patient's discharge from the SICU. All patients were receiving nutritional support at this later time. Control subjects were healthy volunteers, matched for age and sex and fasted approximately 18 h before blood sampling. GH in trauma patients was increased 25-fold on the first day and was still elevated > or = 5-fold on the last day. Trauma decreased circulating levels of both IGF-I (50-60%) and IGF-II (33-45%) throughout the duration of the patients' stay in the SICU. A sustained reduction in plasma IGF-binding protein (BP)-3 (55-75%) was observed in trauma patients throughout the protocol. In contrast, IGFBP-1 levels increased more than threefold during this same period. Furthermore, IGFBP-1 in these patients had undergone posttranslational modification and existed primarily in a highly phosphorylated form. Blood, collected from a cohort (n = 3) of these patients within 24 h of their discharge from the hospital, indicated that IGF-I and IGF-II were still reduced (30%) and that the decrease in IGFBP-3 and the elevation in IGFBP-1 were still evident at this time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)