P.081 Critical illness neuropathy and clinical correlates in severely burned patients

Abstract

Background: Reported incidence of critical illness neuropathy (CIN) in burn patients is between 7-41%. Methods: Retrospective review including patients admitted to quaternary ICU for burn injuries between 2010-16. Variables include demographics, burn and neurologic characteristics, EMG reports, and measurements of illness severity. Patients with and without neuropathies were compared. Results: Of 147 patients admitted to ICU, thirteen had EMG studies and eight met CIN criteria. Five had electrophysiological CIN evidence, three had clinical diagnosis. Six EMGs focused on upper limb injuries only, insufficient to diagnose CIN. One patient was diagnosed with critical illness myopathy and nine had superimposed focal mononeuropathies or plexopathy. CIN patients had a mean of larger burns (TBSA 63% vs 21%), more operations (8 vs 2) and escharotomies performed (63% vs 12%), longer ICU admissions (23 vs 9 days), longer ventilation (28 vs 8 days), higher revised Baux score (101 vs 76) and initial APACHE II scores (21 vs 15) than those without. Conclusions: CIN was identified in 5.4% of burn patients admitted to ICU, lower than previously reported in literature, and associated with higher illness severity. CIN may be under recognized if not screened for. Unit examinations should include screening neurological measures and indicated EMGs to evaluate for CIN.