Alcohol Use Contributing to Burn Injuries May Impair Brain Function

Burns are devastating injuries that go beyond skin damage inciting an inflammatory surge when compounded by the effects of alcohol, which can dysregulate the initial immune response. This can also lead to more severe complications, delayed recovery, and increased morbidity and mortality. Returning to work or normal life can be impaired or delayed for burn-injured patients who use alcohol. Every organ of the body is affected by alcohol because it enters your bloodstream.

If you look at the data on alcohol use and injury recovery, it affects everything from the cardiovascular system to the lungs, liver, and pancreas, and even fracture repair. That is primarily because alcohol in the body alters inflammatory responses.

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Alcohol Use in Burn Injuries Trouble the Brain

In a research study published in the journal Alcohol, researchers describe another possible issue caused by the combination of alcohol and burn injury: impaired cognitive function.

Looking at data from patients at the University of Colorado Burn Center, the research team found a correlation between the presence of inflammation markers in the blood of intoxicated burn-injured patients and delirium during hospitalization, as measured by the Confusion Assessment Method tool.

Some biomarkers are associated with cognitive dysfunction in humans, which could be Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or other conditions. Among those biomarkers is the cytokine CCL11, which recently was identified as an indicator of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Finding early biomarkers could help to analyze potential problems.

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Role of Gut Health in Burn Injury

Studying the link between alcohol and burn injury for more than two decades, has found that burn-injured patients who use alcohol have worse outcomes and are at higher risk for delirium.

Burn injuries to the skin cause the release of chemicals that make their way to other organs, most notably the gut. Because the gut and the brain are closely connected, impaired cognitive function can occur in burn-injured patients whose immune function is impaired by alcohol.

For people who sustain an injury where alcohol is a factor, we may be able to give them supplements that will improve their gut microbiome, and therefore their immune function and that may help heal wounds faster and may yield less delirium.

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Be Aware of Alcohol Use-Related Complications in Burn Injuries

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and this research is a timely reminder that alcohol use can have severe and unintended consequences. There are not any real benefits of alcohol at any level of consumption.

It is important to limit or moderate alcohol use. If every patient who comes into the emergency department is asked about their alcohol use, and we can get a realistic assessment of who is using alcohol at a less healthy level, we might be able to decrease the number of people who suffer from excessive alcohol use.



Source-Eurekalert