Hemolysis does not necessarily result in
acute renal failure in severely burned patients, but free serum
hemoglobin may play some important role in the development of renal damage. This controlled study of the effects of
haptoglobin administration in severely burned patients presenting with
hemoglobinuria produced the following results: As long as free
hemoglobin was present in the plasma, free serum
haptoglobin remained undetectable. Free serum
hemoglobin dropped rapidly after
haptoglobin treatment, whereas the free serum
hemoglobin levels in control patients remained unchanged for at least 12 hours. The time required for macroscopic
hemoglobinuria to clear showed a statistically significant difference between the
haptoglobin-treated patients and the control patients. Some patients among the
haptoglobin-treated group had prolonged
hemolysis and
hemoglobinuria which might have cleared with additional doses of
haptoglobin.