Insulin increases resistance to burn wound infection-associated sepsis

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Study examined the ability of insulin to improve outcome following a Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infection in a rodent model of severe burn injury. Burn-injured Sprague Dawley rats were randomized into treatment groups that received either saline or insulin. Burn wounds were topically inoculated with a lethal dose of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 6 days after injury. Survival, systemic dissemination of bacteria, systemic inflammation, and immune activation were examined. Insulin decreased the early inflammatory response to a severe burn injury. Treatment with low doses of insulin following burn injury improved the outcome of rats in response to a lethal burn wound infection. Specifically, survival was improved and systemic dissemination of bacteria from the wound was decreased. Systemic inflammation, indicated by serum interleukin-6 levels, was significantly decreased by insulin treatments after injury. Additionally, insulin treatments were associated with alterations in B and T lymphocyte responses to wound infection. Although the mechanisms by which insulin improves outcome following a lethal burn wound infection are not known, the data suggest that immunologic responses to infection may be altered by postburn insulin treatments.

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