Impact of oxandrolone treatment on acute outcomes after severe burn injury

Pharmacologic modulation of hypermetabolism clearly benefits children with major burns, however, its role in adult burns remains to be defined. Oxandrolone appears to be a promising anabolic agent although few outcome data are as yet available. We examined whether early oxandrolone treatment in severely burned adults was associated with improved outcomes during acute hospitalization. We evaluated for potential associations between oxandrolone treatment and outcomes in a large cohort of severely burned adults in the context of a multicenter observational study. Patients were dichotomized with respect to oxandrolone treatment, defined as administration within 7 days after admission, with duration of at least 7 days. Acute hospitalization outcomes were compared with univariate and multivariate analyses. One hundred seventeen patients were included in this analysis. Mean patient age was 42.6 years (range, 18-86); 77% were male, with an average TBSA of 44.1%. Baseline and injury characteristics were similar among treatment and nontreatment cohorts. Oxandrolone treatment (N = 59) did not impact length of stay but was associated with a lower mortality rate (P = .01) by univariate analysis. Oxandrolone treatment was independently associated with higher survival by adjusted analyses (P = .02). Examination of early oxandrolone treatment in this cohort of severely burned adults suggests that this therapy is safe and may be associated with improved survival. Further studies are necessary to define the exact mechanisms by which oxandrolone is beneficial during inpatient treatment. (J Burn Care Res 2008;29:902-906)