Long-Term Cardiac Sequelae of Severe Burn Injury

Status:

ongoing

Aims:

1. To quantify the short- and long-term prevalence of burn-associated cardiac dysfunction and structural myocardial remodeling (including fibrosis).
2. To determine the severity of cardiac impairment compared to an age- and sex-matched healthy control population.
3. To identify clinical, imaging-based, and molecular risk factors during the acute injury phase and its treatment that are associated with the development of chronic heart failure following severe burn injury.

Activities/Methods:

A multicenter, prospective observational study with longitudinal follow-up of patients after severe burn injury is planned. Cardiac function will be assessed using standardized transthoracic echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (including tissue characterization), laboratory biomarker analyses, and clinical functional testing.

Assessments will be performed at predefined time points (acute phase, 6 months, 12 months, and extended long-term follow-up where applicable). In addition, clinical course parameters, intensive care treatment data, inflammatory markers, and therapeutic interventions will be systematically documented. Results will be compared with an age- and sex-matched healthy control cohort. Statistical analyses will include prevalence estimation, multivariable regression analyses to identify independent risk factors, and exploratory analyses of potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

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