Study of the Effect of Gender, Local Anesthesia and Antioxidant on Myocardial Performance of Rats after Burn Injury

We have studied 80 albino rats that were divided into two main groups: Male and Female with each group subdivided into 4 subgroups: (a) control, (b) 3^rd degree scald burn injury, (c) 3^rd degree scald burn treated with topical lidocaine after burn, (d) 3^rd degree scald burn receiving both vitamin C, E and A before and immediately after scald burn injury. 24 hours after the injury protocol, SBP, serum troponin and IL 6 and left ventricular performance parameters (LVF) were measured. Burn injury resulted in significant drop in SBP, LVF parameters and significant rise in IL6 and troponin in both male and female subgroups when compared to their corresponding control subgroups. Treatment of burned animals (male or female) with topical lidocaine or antioxidants in the first 24 hours after burn injury resulted in a significant improvement in SBP and LVF parameters and significantly reduced the rise in IL6 and serum troponin in each animal subgroup when compared to their corresponding gender matched control subgroup. In all the studied subgroups, female animals showed better LVP parameters and less release of IL6 and less troponin than the corresponding male subgroup. We Also found that both antioxidants and local anaesthesia offer an almost equal amount of protection after burn injury within each gender subgroup. We conclude that, oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators play an important role in how our hearts respond to injury in the first 24 hours after major scald burn injury and that this response is affected by gender. Using local anaesthesia or antioxidants might improve left ventricular function in the early post burn period.