Grants Funded
Grant applicants for the 2024 cycle requested a total of nearly $3 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated more than 100 grant applications on the following topics:
The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $650,000 dollars to support more than 20 plastic surgery research proposals.
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
Prospective Antiviral Prophylaxis in a Burn Patient Population
Michael Neumeister MD, FRCSC, FACS
2014
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Pilot Research Grant
Wounds / Scar
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a major public health concern, with up to 65% of the population showing evidence of infection age 40. The virus results in a multitude of common infections including oral herpes labialis, genital herpes, herpes encephalitis and Bell's Palsy. Infection typically occurs in childhood from parent to child. This initial infection is usually the most severe with symptoms of fever and painful ulcerations.
During the primary infection or reactivation, the virus can spread rapidly. The host is susceptible to reactivation during times of stress. The virus wakes and causes a rash. Less likely, reactivation leads to a spread of the virus into the Central Nervous System causing life-threatening encephalitis.
If infection could be prevented, patients would not have to experience these negative health conditions. A study of antiviral prophylaxis (preventative therapy) of at risk individuals has yet to be performed, even though it is used for other high-risk populations. The incidence of HSV after facial resurfacing procedures is thought to be between 3% and 50%. Antivirals have become standard of care for facial resurfacing after studies showed that incidence decreased to <1% with prophylactic treatment. University of California studied the incidence of HSV in their burn population using a similar practice by looking at age, burn size, length of hospital stay and time on ventilator. This published study revealed a 30% rate of HSV activation, which affected length of ventilator use and hospitalization. We believe that HSV in our population of burn patients will be large and that antiviral prophylaxis will significantly reduce the incidence of HSV in the burn population.
The primary goal of our study will be to find if antiviral prophylaxis reduces the incidence of HSV infection and reactivation in the burn population. We will also evaluate if viral HSV outbreak lengthens hospital stay or time taken to heal wounds.
