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Introduction: Severe thermal skin injury is accompanied by sequestration of blood phagocytes especially polymorphonuclear leukocytes in lungs. These cells release variety of reactive oxygen species including hydrogenperoxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide that may predispose to oxidative stress in the lower airways. H2O2 and nitrite/nitrate (NO2- / NO3-)- end-products of nitric oxide oxidation are present in exhaled breathe condensate (EBC) of healthy children. Material and methods: We tested whether children with scald skin injury (n=42, burn size 4 to 60 % total body surface area, no need of ventilatory support) exhale more H2O2 and NO2- / NO3- than children (n=16) with congenital abnormalities but without any inflammatory processes. EBC was collected during surgery under general anaesthesia at post-burndays 5th-7th. H2O2 and total NO2- / NO3- were measured with homovanillic acid method and combination of Griess method with specimen preincubation with nitrate reductase. Results: EBC H2O2 and NO2- / NO3- concentration (median and range) were 0.69 (0.04-7.59) μM and 4.39 (0.22-33.71) μM in scald children and did not differ[p>0.05]from those found in children with congenital abnormalities i.e., 0.44 (0.04-8.76) μM and 3.15 (0.22-15.54) μM, respectively. Exhaled NO2- /NO3- correlated (p<0.05) with exhaled H2O2 (r=0.57) and plasma C-reactive protein levels (r=0.36) in scald children. However, no exhaled compound correlated with burns size and chest X-ray inflammatory changes. Conclusions: We conclude that scald skin injury does not increase H2O2 and NO2- / NO3- exhalation in children at the late post-burn period. (Clin. Exp. Med. Lett. 2006; 47(4):229-234)

Keywords: Burn, scald skin injury, children, exhaled breathe condensate, nitrite, nitrate