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A comparative analysis of lethality and causes of death of the burned in the Russian Burn Center of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for 40 years has shown that general lethality in the Burn Center for this period did not undergo substantial changes and was within 10%. Main causes of death were shock, sepsis and pneumonia. Other causes were of less significance. The authors noted more severe thermal traumas in the nineties and earlier development of complications leading to death.

The severity of burn toxemia mainly depends on the blood level of endotoxins, produced by bowel bacteria. The dynamics of endotoxemia have its supreme expression at the first day of burn injury. Enterosorption promotes significant decrease in blood concentrations of endotoxins and middle molecular mass peptides, depression of their cytological action, improvement of glycogen- and protidin-synthetizing hepatic function.

Under analysis were the results of 31 autopsies of patients with extensive (from 20 to 75% of the body surface) and deep burns who died of sepsis. In 15 patients peripheral and central veins were catheterized, the duration of staying the catheter in the veins varying from 7 till 80 days. A direct relationship between prolonged catheterization of the venous vessels in burned patients and the frequency of septic endocardites has been established.

An analysis of lethal outcomes following thermal traumas during the recent 8 years has shown sepsis to occupy one of the leading places as a cause of death of burned people. During the recent years the incidence of early sepsis has been increased. This kind of sepsis develops in the period of shock and acute toxemia, is often of lightening character, possesses certain specific morphological features and is caused predominantly by gram-negative flora threatening to patients with critical burns of more than 40% of the body surface.