The beneficial effect of early excision on clinical response and thymic activity after burn injury.

Catabolic response and immunodepression were studied in guinea pigs with scald burns that were excised on day 1 postburn and those that were scald burned but unexcised. Weight gain returned to normal by day 6 in the excised group but remained depressed in burned but unexcised animals whose wounds were untreated, or in unexcised animals whose wounds were treated by topical silver sulfadiazine. Thymic DNA synthesis returned to normal by day 6 in the excised group but remained depressed in the unexcised group. Plasma and thymic-free cortisol returned to normal by day 6 in the excised group but remained markedly elevated in the burned, unexcised animals. These studies indicate early excision and early wound closure reduce the catabolic response and immunodepression of guinea pigs following burn injury.