The Anemia of Thermal Injury

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Abstract
Anemia is invariably seen in patients who were severely burned, and a number of factors were implicated in its etiology. Prior studies suggested that a depressed rate of erythropoiesis is involved. The effect of serum from burned patients on red cell and white cell colony growth was studied in vitro. These sera were capable of inhibiting red cell, but not white cell, colony growth. This was evidently related to the presence of some substance in the burned serum rather than the absence of a factor required for colony formation. This effect was probably not due to topical medications nor to episodes of bacterial sepsis. Inhibition was often not present in the immediate postburn period but developed gradually, reaching maximum intensity approximately 20-30 days following the burn and then returning toward normal as patients healed their injury. Inhibition of erythropoiesis may play a role in the pathogenesis of the anemia of thermal injury.