The Yale journal of biology and medicine
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Major trauma often precipitates major malnutrition. In many patients, this malnutrition underlies the morbidity and mortality associated with major injury, often leading to multiple organ failure and refractory sepsis. The clinical challenge is to anticipate these potential nutritional problems and intervene early and appropriately, recognizing that it is far easier to prevent malnutrition than it is to reverse it.
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Sepsis is responsible for 75 percent of late deaths following major thermal injury or traumatic injury. Efforts to prevent and/or control sepsis should include an understanding of normal host resistance, proper resuscitation techniques, and nutritional support. Recent studies identifying T suppressor cell abnormalities in burn patients and macrophage defects in trauma patients are presented in this paper. Concluding remarks regarding future directions for research and therapy in this area are also made.