Skin graft surgery and its impact on platelet counts in Iranian burn patients: a non-randomized clinical trial

• Published in: BMC surgery Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 200 - 8
• Main Authors: Kazemzadeh, Jafar, Pakzad, Shiva, Parizad, Naser, Jafari, Yashar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 03-07-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Angiogenesis; Autologous transplant; Blood platelets; Blood vessels; Burn patients; Burns; Burns - blood; Burns - surgery; Burns and scalds; Clinical trials; Data analysis; Diabetes; Female; Graft rejection; Grafting; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune response; Infections; Information management; Insulin-like growth factors; Iran; Iran - epidemiology; Ischemia; Male; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Patients; Plasma; Plastic surgery; Platelet Count; Platelets; Recovery; Sepsis; Skin; Skin & tissue grafts; Skin graft; Skin grafts; Skin Transplantation - methods; Surgeons; Surgery; Transplantation; Wound healing; Young Adult; Iran; Iran; Autologous transplant; Surgery; Platelet count; Skin graft
• ISSN: 1471-2482; 1471-2482
• DOI: 10.1186/s12893-024-02489-x

Platelets are critical in maintaining homeostasis and immune response in burn patients. The concentration of platelets decreases in burn patients, and any intervention that increases serum platelet concentration can prevent serious consequences and patient death. The present study aimed to assess the impact of skin graft surgery on burn patients' platelet counts.
In this non-randomized clinical trial, 200 burn patients were investigated. The patients were recruited from the surgical ward of Imam Khomeini Teaching Hospital during the first six months of 2021. After completing the checklist, patients underwent skin graft surgery. Blood was taken from the patients during surgery in the operating room and on the third and fifth day after the surgery to check platelets. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software (ver. 22.0).
Most patients (63.5%) were male, and 73 (36.5%) were female. One hundred eighty-one patients (90.5%) had deep burns, and 19 (9.5%) had superficial burns. The mean burns percentage in the patients was 19.3 ± 15.4%, the lowest was 2%, and the highest was 90%. The most common burns were caused by flame (42%) and boiling water (30.5%). The patients' outcomes revealed that 6% gained complete recovery, 86.5% partial recovery, 2.5% showed transplant rejection, and 5% died. Mean platelet levels in deceased patients had an upward trend. The mean platelet counts of patients were elevated during surgery (289,855 ± 165,378), decreased three days after surgery (282,778 ± 317,310), and elevated again five days after surgery (330,375 ± 208,571). However, no significant difference was found between the mean platelet counts during surgery, the third and fifth days after surgery in patients undergoing skin grafts (P = 0.057).
This study suggests that skin graft positively increases the patient's platelets. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings and elucidate the mechanism. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial approval code (IRCT# IRCT20131112015390N8 & 06/01/2024).