EFFECTS OF ENTERAL GLUTAMINE SUPPLEMENTATION ON REDUCTION OF INFECTION IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH SEVERE BURNS.

To determine the effect of enteral glutamine in reducing the incidence of post burn infections in patients with severe burns.A double blind randomised clinical trial.Burns unit and ward 4D of Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya.Sixty patients with severe burns who were randomised to two arms of treatment: (1) the glutamine group and (2) isonitrogenous arm acting as the control.Patients' demographic and baseline clinical characteristics were similar in both arms of treatment. For the entire four-week treatment period, the odds ratio of a positive blood culture was almost three-fold higher among patients in the control group compared to those in the Glutamine group (p = 0.04). There was also a higher incidence of positive swab cultures from the non glutamine group.Enteral glutamine supplementation in severely burnt adult patients reduces blood infection by a factor of three. It also significantly reduces the incidence of burn wound infections.