Myocardial function following thermal injury.

• Severe thermal burn produces in the dog an immediate and profound reduction in the cardiac output. This finding was reported originally by Gilmore and Handford, Dobson and Warner, and has been confirmed by other investigators.The decrease in cardiac output is unrelated to changes in right atrial pressure, and occurs too rapidly to be explained on the basis of changes in plasma volume or heart rate." The restoration of plasma volume by the infusion of intravenous solutions does not result in a return of the cardiac output to preburn levels. When a cardiac glycoside is administered with the intravenous fluids, however, an increase in cardiac output to preburn values occurs. These observations suggest that a defect in myocardial contractility may occur after severe thermal trauma.