Granulocyte chemiluminescence in patients with postoperative infections
M. Salo, J. Perttila and O. P. Lehtonen
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Turku, Finland.
In patients with postoperative infections, the oxygen-dependent
microbicidal responses of separated granulocytes to a microbe isolated from
each patient, a strain of Escherichia coli, and zymosan were evaluated by
luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. In patients with major postoperative
infection, chemiluminescence responses to all particles were depressed, but
no such changes were seen in patients with minor postoperative infection.
No specific depression was seen in chemiluminescence responses to the
isolated bacteria. The decreases found in chemiluminescence responses were
not likely to be due to the operation, but at the time of measurement were
probably due to the infection and reflect the depressed microbicidal
capacity of granulocytes.
