Microbiome Changes in Severe Burns

There exists a vast collection of bacteria that live on, and within, each human body. All
surfaces exposed to the external environment, such as the nares, mouth, airway, skin, and
intestines, are colonized, and it is estimated that over 100 trillion microbes live within
the gastrointestinal tract alone. The interactions between these colonizers and their host
have been demonstrated to affect myriad aspects of human health from autism and inflammatory
bowel disease to cancer therapy response. Investigations into the role of the intestinal
microbiome in sepsis have been ongoing for decades. Data has shown that critically ill
patients can not only experience increased intestinal permeability - a factor that allows for
the translocation of bacteria and non-microbial tissue injurious factors into the, primarily
lymphatic, circulation, but also a disruption of the symbiotic relationship to one of
dysbiosis, resulting in what is known as a "pathobiome."

That the microbiome is affected by thermal injury should be no surprise; burn injury has been
shown to drive significant intestinal ischemia and inflammation with subsequently increased
intestinal permeability. , Burn-induced lung injury has been linked to these changes, and
alterations in the microbiome between critically-burned patients (when compared with healthy
controls) have been demonstrated, with resultant overgrowth of gram-negative anaerobes. Thus,
the microbiome has a clear role in affecting the clinical course of thermally-injured
patients.

This is a descriptive case series study examining microbiome changes in two adult patients
admitted with severe burn injuries. This will be done by obtaining regular stool samples and
analyzing the microbial content, as well as obtaining clinical data on patients including
those factors likely to influence the microbial content.

Inclusion Criteria:

- sustained greater than or equal to 20% body surface area of the body (BSAB)

Exclusion Criteria:

- pre-existing clinical infections

- historical evidence of gastrointestinal disease such as Ulcerative Colitis

- Crohn's disease

- Celiac disease

- historical evidence of gastrointestinal Clostridium difficile infection

- no anti-biotic use for 3 months prior to admission

- AIDS

- immune suppressing medications or metastasized cancer

- peritonitis

- non English-speaking