Oxidation-reduction potential and paraoxonase-arylesterase activity in trauma patients

The amount of oxidative stress in severely traumatized patients is usually based on various individual parameters such as total antioxidants and lipid peroxidation. Serial measurements of plasma oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) in severely traumatized patients as a simple mean of assessing overall oxidative stress is described. Serial whole blood samples were obtained from multi-trauma patients (N = 39) and healthy individuals (N = 10). Plasma ORP in multi-trauma patients increased during the first few days of hospitalization and approached normal ORP levels upon discharge. On the ORP maxima day (5.8 days ± 0.5 SEM), a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) was observed for negative acute phase reactants such as plasma paraoxonase-arylesterase (PON-AE) activity and total plasma protein in comparison with admission plasma levels. Monitoring ORP could be a useful tool for assessing the degree of oxidative stress, inflammation, severity of injury, and potential efficacy of treatment.