Surprising results from smoke inhalation study

Researchers at Loyola University Chicago have published unexpected findings that smoke inhalation patients who died from their injuries had lower inflammatory responses in their lungs than patients who survived. Researchers measured concentrations of 28 immune system modulators in fluid collected from the lungs of patients within 14 hours of burn and smoke inhalation injuries. They expected to find higher concentrations of modulators in patients who died, because sicker patients tend to have more active inflammatory responses. But researchers found just the opposite: patients who died had lower concentrations. Survival of burn patients has significantly improved since the 1950s, due to advancements in wound care and improved infection treatment. But progress has somewhat stalled in the last 10 years. The immune response to injury "remains incompletely understood and additional effort is required to further improve survival of the burn-injured patient," the researchers wrote.