Bone Loss During the Acute Stage Following Burn Injury: Is It Local or Systemic?

Abstract

Objective: To examine post-burn bone loss and determine whether it was local or diffuse.

Methods: Thirty-six patients with burn injuries were investigated, and the total body surface area of the burns and their locations were recorded. The bone mineral densities of the lumbar 1-4 vertebrae, bilateral distal forearm, and bilateral proximal femur of the patients were recorded, and these were compared with the measurements of the non-burnt extremity.

Results: No statistically significant correlations existed among the total body surface area of the burns, their severity and the z-scores. In addition, when comparing the z-scores of the burnt extremity with those of the non-burnt extremity, no statistically significant difference was found (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: In this study, a remarkable decrease in bone mass occurred during the second month following the burn injuries. The post-burn bone loss could not be correlated with the severity of the burns, but these injuries caused systemic bone loss.