This remarkable case describes how doctors kept a patient alive after burns covered 96% of their body—an injury that’s usually fatal. The patient also developed kidney failure and needed a special machine to clean their blood for 95 days. Instead of giving up, a team of doctors created a personalized nutrition plan, carefully measuring how many calories the patient needed and adjusting their food and nutrients daily. They used special feeding tubes and medicines to help wounds heal faster. By day 96, the patient’s wounds had mostly healed and they survived to leave the hospital. This case shows that even in the most extreme situations, precise nutrition planning combined with teamwork can make an incredible difference.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: How to keep a patient alive and help them heal when they have both severe burns covering almost their entire body AND kidney failure requiring a blood-cleaning machine
  • Who participated: One adult patient with 96% of their body severely burned (80% being the deepest, most serious type of burn) who also developed acute kidney injury
  • Key finding: By creating a customized nutrition plan that was adjusted daily based on the patient’s needs, doctors were able to help the patient survive 95 days of continuous kidney treatment and achieve substantial wound healing, ultimately leading to hospital discharge
  • What it means for you: This case suggests that even in extreme medical situations, personalized nutrition monitoring and careful adjustment of food and nutrient intake may play a critical role in survival and recovery. However, this is one patient’s experience, so results may vary greatly for others in similar situations

The Research Details

This is a case report, which means doctors documented the detailed medical story of one specific patient over time. The patient suffered catastrophic burn injuries affecting 96% of their body, with 80% being third-degree burns (the most severe type). On the first day after the injury, the patient developed acute kidney injury, meaning their kidneys stopped working properly. The next day, doctors started continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)—essentially a machine that does the work of the kidneys by filtering waste from the blood continuously, 24 hours a day.

Because the patient couldn’t eat enough food by mouth, doctors provided nutrition through two methods: a feeding tube placed directly into the stomach (enteral nutrition) and intravenous nutrition delivered through the bloodstream (parenteral nutrition). The doctors measured the patient’s resting energy expenditure using a special test called indirect calorimetry, which measures how many calories the body is burning. This allowed them to calculate exactly how much energy and nutrients the patient needed.

The medical team also gave the patient growth hormone to help wounds heal faster and adjusted the nutrition plan every day based on how well the patient was recovering. They tracked progress using wound healing rate, blood tests (especially a protein called prealbumin that indicates nutrition status), and other clinical signs.

This detailed case study is important because it shows how a systematic, personalized approach to nutrition can potentially help patients survive injuries that are usually fatal. By continuously measuring energy needs and adjusting nutrition accordingly, doctors can ensure the body has exactly what it needs to heal. This approach is especially valuable in extreme cases where multiple organ systems are failing, because it demonstrates that careful attention to nutrition may be a key factor in survival.

As a case report of a single patient, this study has important limitations. Case reports are the lowest level of scientific evidence because they describe only one person’s experience, and we cannot know if the same approach would work for other patients. However, the detailed documentation of the patient’s care over 95 days provides valuable insights into what’s possible. The fact that this outcome is described as ’exceptionally rare’ and ‘distinguished by a larger total burn surface area’ and ‘prolonged course of CRRT’ compared to previously published cases suggests this represents an unusual success story rather than a typical outcome.

What the Results Show

The patient survived 95 consecutive days of continuous kidney replacement therapy and was discharged from the hospital on day 96. This is remarkable because patients with burns covering 96% of their body and severe kidney failure rarely survive. The patient’s wounds achieved substantial healing during this period, progressing from catastrophic injury to a state where the patient could be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

The doctors’ personalized nutrition strategy appears to have been central to this outcome. By measuring the patient’s energy expenditure regularly and adjusting the nutrition plan daily, they were able to provide exactly the right amount of calories and nutrients the patient needed. The use of growth hormone in combination with optimized nutrition may have accelerated wound healing.

The medical team tracked the patient’s progress using multiple indicators: how quickly wounds were healing, clinical signs of improvement, blood tests showing protein levels (prealbumin), and other nutritional markers. This allowed them to make real-time adjustments to the nutrition plan whenever needed.

The case demonstrates the importance of multidisciplinary team collaboration—meaning doctors from different specialties (burn specialists, kidney specialists, nutritionists, surgeons) working together. The patient’s complex medical situation required expertise from multiple areas, and coordinated care appears to have been essential. The use of both enteral nutrition (feeding tube) and parenteral nutrition (intravenous) together allowed the medical team to meet the patient’s extremely high nutritional demands during the hypermetabolic state (when the body is burning calories at an unusually high rate due to severe injury).

According to the doctors who wrote this case report, this patient’s outcome is distinguished by three factors compared to other published cases: the larger total burn surface area (96% versus typically lower percentages in survivors), the prolonged course of continuous kidney replacement therapy (95 days is longer than most reported cases), and a more complex overall clinical trajectory. This suggests that while severe burns with kidney failure have been documented before, this particular combination and duration is exceptionally rare, making this case particularly noteworthy.

This is a single case report, so we cannot know if the same nutrition strategy would work for other patients with similar injuries. Every patient is different, and factors like age, overall health before the injury, and other medical conditions could affect outcomes. The case does not include a comparison group, so we cannot definitively say that the nutrition strategy caused the survival—other factors like the patient’s overall health, the quality of surgical care, infection prevention, and luck may have also played important roles. Additionally, this represents an exceptional outcome, and most patients with injuries this severe do not survive, so this case should not create unrealistic expectations for similar patients.

The Bottom Line

Based on this single case, doctors may consider implementing personalized, continuously-adjusted nutrition plans for patients with severe burns and kidney failure. Regular measurement of energy expenditure using indirect calorimetry and daily adjustments to nutrition based on clinical progress appear to be reasonable approaches. However, these recommendations are based on one patient’s experience and should be considered preliminary. Healthcare providers should consult current clinical guidelines and consider each patient’s unique circumstances. Confidence level: Low to Moderate (based on a single case report)

This case is primarily relevant to intensive care doctors, burn specialists, kidney specialists, and nutritionists who care for patients with severe burns and acute kidney injury. It may also be of interest to patients and families facing similar catastrophic injuries, though they should understand this represents an exceptional outcome. This case should NOT be interpreted as a guarantee that similar patients will survive with the same nutrition approach, as outcomes depend on many factors.

In this case, substantial wound healing occurred over 95 days, with the patient being discharged on day 96. However, the patient then required continued treatment at a rehabilitation facility, suggesting full recovery takes much longer. Realistic expectations would be that if this nutrition approach helps, benefits would develop gradually over weeks and months, not days.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • For patients in similar situations (if applicable), track daily calorie intake from all sources (oral, tube feeding, and intravenous nutrition), daily protein intake in grams, and wound healing progress (such as percentage of wound area healed or photos taken weekly). Also track weight and any available blood markers like prealbumin levels.
  • While this case involves hospitalized patients on feeding tubes, the principle of matching nutrition to individual needs could apply to other recovery situations. Users recovering from major surgery or injury could work with their healthcare team to track their actual energy needs and ensure adequate protein intake for healing. This might involve using a food tracking app in combination with medical monitoring.
  • Establish a baseline measurement of energy needs (if possible through medical testing), then track actual intake daily and compare to target. Monitor wound healing or recovery progress weekly. Track blood work results (protein levels, kidney function) as available. Adjust nutrition plan based on progress, similar to how the doctors in this case adjusted daily. Share tracking data with healthcare providers to guide treatment decisions.

This case report describes one patient’s exceptional medical experience and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a guarantee of outcomes for other patients. Severe burns and acute kidney injury are life-threatening conditions requiring immediate emergency medical care from qualified healthcare professionals. Treatment decisions should always be made in consultation with your medical team based on your individual circumstances. The nutrition strategies described in this case were implemented in a hospital setting under close medical supervision and are not appropriate for self-management. If you or a loved one has suffered severe burns or kidney injury, seek immediate emergency medical care. This information is for educational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice.