Vitamin C for Severe Thermal Injuries

Subjects presenting within 6 hours of a severe thermal injury, defined as greater than 20% of their total body surface area, or their family members will be approached on admission to Parkland Memorial Hospital and informed of the study. Those electing to participate in the study will be randomized to receive either high-dose vitamin C (66mg/kg/hr for the first 24 hours, this dosage is based on prior human studies) in addition to the standard resuscitation algorithm (as per the Parkland Formula) or to a control group receiving only the standard resuscitation algorithm. These subjects will then be followed during their hospital course for fluid requirements, urine output, infectious complication rates, liver/renal failure rates, abdominal compartment syndrome rates, and outcomes such as ICU days, total hospital days, and mortality. All adverse events will be monitored by a data safety monitoring board. Currently this is a planned pilot study with a future multi-center study planned based on the results of the pilot. These studies will help determine if high-dose vitamin C can be a safe adjunct to acute fluid resuscitation in severely burned patients.