Interrelationships Between Platelet Activity and the Immunoinflammatory Response to Severe Injury

Background: Critical injury causes alterations in coagulation and inflammation. Activation of these systems is critical to counteract the initial threats of hemorrhage and infection; however prolonged propagation is associated with poor outcomes. How coagulation and inflammation interact is an area of keen interest. The aim of this study is to correlate changes in circulating inflammatory mediators with coagulation in trauma (ISS>15) and burn patients. Methods: Blood samples were drawn from trauma (n=10) and burn (n=10) patients and healthy volunteers (HV; n-10). Coagulation parameters (sCD40L, D-Dimers), cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-17a, TNFα) and inflammatory markers (HSP-72) were assessed. Results: The subjects were predominately male (85%) and ~44 years of age. A marked increase in IL-6 and IL-10 was observed in both injury groups, whereas only the trauma group showed an increase in IL-17a and TNFα compared with HV. HSP-72 levels were 3-fold higher in the trauma group, but not elevated in the burn group...