When you think of healing from serious and critical burns, one thing that may not come
to mind is nutrition.
But did you know that this aspect of treatment is vital to getting your body restored?
I'm Rachelle Grossman and this is a health feature.
According to research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, over 1 million
burn injuries happen in the United States annually.
And metabolic changes are possible following severe burns.
According to this research, quote, "severely burned, catabolic patients can lose up to
25 percent of total body mass after acute severe burn injury."
A 10 percent loss of total body mass leads to immune dysfunction while a 20 percent loss
leads to decreased wound healing.
So providing sustenance to protect against body mass loss is vital to the overall healing
process.
The Ohio State Comprehensive Burn Center takes nutritional needs for burn patients very seriously.
Its burn team has been named among the "Best of the Best" by Critical Care Nutrition at
the Clinical Evaluation Research Unit in Ontario in its International Nutrition Survey.
Dr. Larry Jones, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive
Burn Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center expands...
"We don't want the body to use itself.
So, increasing the diet, increasing protein in the diet, getting the patients to eat,
giving them supplemental feedings is a way of providing them with the proteins and the
calories that they need to heal their burn wounds."
Once inside the surgical intensive care unit, Dr. Jones and team start this healing process
via feeding tube.
Patients' weight and calories are monitored and adjustments are made on a weekly basis.
Eventually, it is switched to an oral diet during the day with this supplemental feeding
during the night.
Then - an oral diet packed full of protein.
Director of Nutrition Support Services and Medical Director of Ohio State's Level 1 Trauma
Center, Dr. David Evans, has more on the specific caloric needs of severe burn patients.
"We find that they need about 140 percent of their regular caloric intake so closer
to, say, 3,000 calories when they normally would be taking 2,000 calories.
Also, they need 2-3 or even 4 times as much protein as they would in an uninjured state."
Patient Troy Patchin, who is receiving this nutritional care after receiving second and
third degree burns, explains how much he's being fed each day.
"My doctors told me that the feeding tube and stuff like that, gives me probably the
same equivalence as eating like 15-20 Big Macs a day in the protein and everything."
He notes it's helped, as when he first arrived, his appetite was nothing compared to what
it once was.
According to a university press release, this feeding solution is full of proteins, vitamin
D, omega-3 fatty acids among other nutrients.
So what happens when a patient is discharged or their wound appears to be healed?
When does the body no longer need this additional protein?
Dr. Larry Jones has more...
"Many of us believe that that nutritional support needs to be provided even beyond the
time that the burn wound appears to be healed.
So it may last for months following the burn wound's healing."
"Even those patients where the skin graphs have completely healed, those patients require
nutritional support in a form of protein and other calories to make sure that that wound
continues to heal.
It takes a burn wound anywhere from 12 to 18 months to completely heal, microscopically.
So, the nutritional support, we feel is important for at least that period of time."
Ask your doctor for more information on the latest treatment advancements for your condition.