New fluid therapy protocol in acute burn from a tertiary burn care centre

Abstract Background Ringer lactate is the main fluid for resuscitation of acute burns. However it is not a complete fluid alone, as it does not take care of sugar and electrolyte balance adequately. This study has been carried out to compare the use of Ringer lactate (RL) alone and combination of RL with Dextrose Normal Saline (DNS) as fluid replacement therapy in acute burn. Objective To assess the biochemical parameters with the use of DNS as maintenance fluid in combination with Ringer lactate as resuscitation fluid in acute burns resuscitation. Method A prospective randomized control study has been carried out by enrolling 200 patients into 2 groups, treated in ICU and resuscitated by using Modification of Brooke’s formula (2 mL/kg/% TBSA for resuscitation plus 2500 mL maintenance). Group A received RL for resuscitation and DNS as maintenance in 1st 72 h of burns. Group B received RL only for 1st 72 h. The effects of this on various blood parameters were studied. Results Mean value of sodium at 24 h was 137.79 ± 3.89 in group A and was 133.2 ± 4.57 (p  Conclusion RL is not an ideal fluid for maintenance as it is low in sodium (130 mEq/L) as well as potassium (4 mEq/L) in view of daily electrolyte requirement. There is no glucose content in it to provide calories. Therefore, DNS should be added as daily maintenance fluid with RL as replacement for evaporative losses following burns.