Vitamin D and n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) to Prevent Chronic Pain Following Major Thermal Burn Injury
Chronic Pain Following Thermal Burn Injury

About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Chronic Pain Following Thermal Burn Injury focused on measuring burn injury, thermal burn injury, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D, fish oil, chronic pain, chronic pain due to trauma
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- ≥ 18 years and ≤ 65 years of age
- Admitted to burn center within 72 hours of thermal burn injury
- Estimated Total Body Surface area (TBSA) ≤ 30%
- Surgical team has plans for surgical management of the burn wound (e.g. xenograft and/or autograft).
- Patients experience a thermal burn injury, not an electrical or chemical burn.
- Has a telephone to receive follow-up calls.
- Able to speak and read English
- Resides within 150 miles of study site
- Alert and oriented
- Willing to take study medication for 6 weeks following enrollment
- Subjects are capable of giving informed consent.
- Predicted probability of chronic pain ≥ 0.3 when demographic parameters are entered into a logistic regression model developed from a previous cohort. (Initial pain score entered into this model will be based on the highest pain severity over the initial 24 hours of hospital admission).
- European American or African American
Exclusion Criteria:
- Unwilling to take study drug
- Allergy to fish oil or corn/soybean oil.
- Patient taking clopidogrel (Plavix)
- Patient taking warfarin or dabigatran.
- Substantial comorbid injury (e.g. long bone fracture)
- Pregnancy/Breastfeeding
- Prisoner status
- Chronic daily opioid use prior to burn (>20 mg oral daily morphine equivalents).
- Active psychosis, suicidal ideation, or homicidal ideation
- Requires an escharotomy or fasciotomy for the treatment of burn injury.
- Has a disorder of pain processing or diminished capacity to perceive pain (congenital insensitivity to pain)
- Known Child-Pugh liver disease severity classification B or C.
- Known chronic kidney disease stage 4 or higher (GFR≤29).
- Known Hemophilia A/B
- Known bleeding dyscrasia
- History of an inability to tolerate fish oil or corn/soybean oil.
- Severe gastroesophageal reflux disease
- No other history or condition that would, in the investigator's judgment, indicate that the patient would very likely be non-compliant with the study or unsuitable for the study (e.g. might interfere with the study, confound interpretation, or endanger patient).
- Intubated and sedated at time of enrollment.
- Hypersensitivity to Vitamin D3, ergocalciferol, calcitriol, alfacalcidol, calcipotriol
- Hypercalcemia (if not already completed, this will be assessed by clinical labs with albumin correction prior to enrollment).
- Hypervitaminosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Hyperphosphatemia
- Arteriosclerosis
- Active myocardial ischemia
- Frequent antacid use (calcium carbonate, cimetidine)
- Cholestyramine or Colestipol use
- Taking Vitamin D supplements in excess of 800 IU daily.
- Taking >1g of fish oil per day.
Sites / Locations
- University Of North Carolina
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Arm 4
Experimental
Experimental
Experimental
Placebo Comparator
n-3 PUFA (O3FA) + Vitamin D3
n-3 PUFA (O3FA) Placebo + Vitamin D3
n-3 PUFAs (O3FA) + Vitamin D3 Placebo
n-3 PUFA (O3FA) Placebo + Vitamin D3 Placebo
4g fish oil in 4 softgels (n-3 PUFA/O3FA) + 2000 IU Vitamin D3 in 1 capsule
4g of corn/soy oil blend in 4 softgels + 2000 IU Vitamin D3 in 1 capsule
4g fish oil in 4 softgels (n-3 PUFA/O3FA) + Vitamin D3 matching Placebo, an inert white powder placebo in 1 capsule
4g n-3 PUFA/O3FA Matching Placebo, a corn/soy oil blend in 4 softgels + inert white powder Vitamin D3 matching placebo in 1 capsule