His poster, “Delineating the Role of Serum Immunoglobin Titer in Burn Patients at High Risk for Herpes Simplex Virus Infection,” won best in category for "Wounds - Clinical I." There were a total of 500 posters with 12 to 15 posters in each category.
“Patients who suffer facial burns or burns >/= 20 percent total body surface area are at high risk for developing HSV infections during their hospitalization,” said Brennan. “Since an active HSV infection can take one to three weeks for symptoms to manifest, we set out to see if HSV screening titers drawn at admission may help identify those patients who go on to develop active infection before symptoms begin. We looked at high-risk patients over the last few years and found that patients who have elevated HSV IgM serum titers on admission were significantly more likely to develop active HSV infection. In fact, anyone who tested seropositive for IgM on admission went on to develop an active infection.”
Identifying patients with elevated IgM on admission allows the care team to see who is at the greatest risk for infection, Brennan explained, and allows them to intervene prophylactically using Acyclovir to minimize the incidence of an active HSV infection and reduce the severity of symptoms if an infection were still to occur.
He had previously worked on projects with Dr. Steven Kahn, assistant professor of surgery, which is what piqued his interest in this topic. “I enjoyed learning and doing research with the burn team and wanted to continue with another project," he said. "It originally started as a summer research project, and we were able to continue to add data and present it at additional conferences."
Brennan said presenting at the ABA national meeting was an exciting opportunity to share the team's work and learn about the research that is going on across the United States and beyond. "The ABA meeting allows burn providers to collaborate and share ideas regarding every aspect of burn care to better advance the recovery and outcomes of our patients, and having the chance to participate in such an effort is always a privilege," he said.
Brennan credits Dr. Kahn and the entire research team for the opportunity. “I happened to be the lucky one who got to present the project," he said. "It wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts and guidance of Dr. Kahn and everyone who participated on the project. That’s the thing I continue to learn the most about research - teamwork makes it all possible.”
Learn more information about the American Burn Association annual meeting at http://ameriburn.org/education/annual-meeting/.
