This month, NTI board member, Deputy Chair of Surgery and Division Head of Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Greg J. Beilman, MD, and colleagues published a study evaluating plasma metabolomics in combat trauma in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (Vol 82, No 2). The researchers hypothesized that succinate was a marker of mortality and sought to identify other biomarkers of mortality and injury severity.
Extracting and evaluating demographics and outcome data from the Joint Trauma Systems database, Beilman et al. determined that succinate and lactate are major markers of mortality and injury severity, as is hypoxanthine. “In short,” report the researchers, “VIP-identified metabolites associated with trauma are positively correlated with clinical markers known to increase with severe bleeding and are negatively correlated with clinical markers known to decrease with traumatic hemorrhage.”
The work confirms previous findings in porcine models and may lead to testable treatments for the outcomes of trauma in both civilian and military patients.
Read the article: Assessment of key plasma metabolites in combat casualities