Abstract
The high incidence of fatal septicemia associated with severe thermal injury is believed to result from a loss of immunocompetence. To detect burn-mediated immune defects, lymphocyte function in peripheral blood leukocytes from 18 individuals sustaining 20-80% full thickness thermal burns was investigated. We examined the kinetics of the mitogen responses, the development of suppressive activity, and the correlation of mononuclear cell functional abnormalities with the incidence of sepsis. Patients were divided into three groups corresponding to their clinical course. The phytohemagglutinin responses of Ficoll-Hypaque purified leukocytes from eight of these patients (group III) were normal at day 1-2 after injury, but were significantly depressed (mean 16% of normal) at days 5-10 after injury. All of these group III patients experienced multiple, severe, septic episodes, and septic mortality was 75%. The other 10 burned individuals showed either augmented (group II) or unaltered (group I) mitogen responsiveness.
Authors
Carol L. Miller, Christopher C. Baker
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