Evaluation of the Effect of Pentoxifylline on Inflammatory Biomarker Serum Levels in Patients with Burn Injuries above 40%

Introduction: One of the important mechanisms of injury in patients with severe burn trauma is an inflammatory response. The results of several studies showed that methods trying to reduce the levels of pivotal proinflammatory factors in such patients may enhance survival and decrease the occurrence of early and late complications. Pentoxifylline is a well-known medication in terms of acting against proinflammatory factors. It is still unknown whether the administration of this drug in patients with burn injuries may have beneficial outcomes or not. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate this hypothesis in patients with burn injuries over 40%.   Methods and Materials: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, a total of 80 patients with burn injuries over 40% of body surface area were randomly assigned into groups of experimental (receiving oral pentoxifylline 400 mg/three times a day) and placebo. Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were compared between the two groups on days 3, 5 and 7. Other variables included the duration of hospital stay, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, mechanical ventilation, and patient’s outcome during hospitalization. Ethics code: 94/3-12/15, Clinical trial: IRCT2017050133737N1   Findings: According to the results, the two groups were similar in terms of age, gender, and the extent of burn injuries. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the mean duration time of hospital stay, ICU stay, or outcome during hospitalization. However, the mean duration of mechanical ventilation was significantly shorter in the experimental group (1.42 days vs. 2.85 days, P=0.03). Although a significant decrease was observed in serum levels of IL-6 and TNFα in two groups during the hospital stay, the drop in IL-6 level was significantly more prominent in the experimental group, compared to control group(P=0.01).   Discussion & Conclusions: Pentoxifylline may decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation and hasten the drop of IL-6 serum level in patients with burn injuries over 40%.