Determination of Burn Size in Mouse Models of Burn Injury: A Scoping Review of Studies Leveraging Scald and Contact Burns

Abstract

Burns are a leading cause of nonfatal injury worldwide and leave survivors with significant complications, including prolonged hypermetabolism. Rodent models are commonly used to better understand the molecular underpinnings of burn injury. However, there is a lack of congruency in methodological reporting standards, particularly with regard to the reporting of burn size. We undertook a scoping review to identify gaps in the methodological reporting in mouse burn model literature. Full-text English peer-reviewed articles were included if they utilized a scald or contact burn to the dorsal and/or ventral sides of mice. Of the 7073 queried articles, 1057 met our inclusion criteria. Basic animal characteristics such as mouse sex, strain, age, and body mass were excluded in several papers, where only ~34% of included papers reported all 4 details. Roughly half of the papers reviewed did not report absolute burn size (~53%) or the measured/calculated total body surface area (TBSA) of mice, typically reporting relative burn size as a percentage of TBSA only. Furthermore, the use of different k-constants in TBSA calculations created significant variation, thereby leading to ~20% differences in relative burn sizes in similarly sized/aged mice. Regardless of whether mice were randomized to experimental groups, the method of randomization and key husbandry variables were infrequently reported. In order to promote rigor, reproducibility, and translatability, preclinical models of burn injury studies should adhere to the essential 10 of the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines, and also report absolute burn sizes and the TBSA of mice.

Keywords: burn injury models; contact burn; scald burn.