In this prospective study, the extent to which severe burn injuries affect the morphology and function of liver, pancreas and thyroid. The evaluation of the liver will be performed non-invasively with liver fibrosis scores based on standard blood parameters, the ultrasound-guided measurement of the liver size and the measurement of liver stiffness (correlated with liver fibrosis) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP, correlated with hepatic steatosis) via transient elastography (FibroScan©, Echosens SA, Paris, France). The thyroid will be assessed by ultrasound and standard blood parameters and the pancreas by standard blood parameters only, respectively.~The patient will be enrolled during the first days on their admission to the intensive care burn unit, if they meet the inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria are met. The first assessment of liver, pancreas and thyroid function will be performed within the first 48 hours of admission. The same measurements maybe be repeated approximately weekly until discharge, respectively. Furthermore at any follow-up visit up to 15 years post-burn if the patient consents to further participate in the study.
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which severe burn injuries affect the morphology and function of liver, pancreas and thyroid. The evaluation of the liver will be performed non-invasively with liver fibrosis scores based on standard blood parameters and the measurement of liver stiffness (correlated with liver fibrosis) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP, correlated with hepatic steatosis) via transient elastography (FibroScan©, Echosens SA, Paris, France). The thyroid and the pancreas will be assessed via ultrasound (GE Medical Systems, Waukesha, USA) and standard blood parameters, respectively.