ACQUIRED DEFECT IN THE BACTERICIDAL FUNCTION OF NEUTROPHIL GRANULOCYTES DURING BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

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Abstract
The ingestion and killing of Staphylococcus aureus by peripheral blood leucocytes from 130 patients with infectious and non‐infectious diseases have been determined, using an improved technique for the evaluation of neutrophil granulocyte function in vitro. A reversible defect in intraleucocytic killing could be demonstrated in granulocytes from patients with severe bacterial infections whereas granulocytes from patients with viral infections and non‐infectious diseases showed only minor deviations from normal function by this technique. This defect could furthermore be attributed to malfunction of myeloperoxidase‐mediated bactericidal systems and was found to be positively related to the degree of “shift to the left” of circulating myeloid cells. A similar defect could also be demonstrated in some patients with non‐infectious granulocytosis. It is suggested that this defect may be caused by malfunction of a subpopulation of immature myeloid cells and/or by altered granulocyte function caused by in vivo activation of the cells due to immune reactions.