[Chemotaxis, phagocytosis and metabolic activation of leukocytes in patients with acute pneumonia].

The authors describe changes in functional activity of peripheral blood leukocytes, namely in the absorptive capacity, metabolic activation, chemotaxis in vivo and in vitro in patients with grave acute pneumonia (n-102) and destructive pneumonia (n-16). At the stage of active inflammation, the patients with acute pneumonia showed a decrease in leukocyte function (chemotaxis and phagocytosis) and metabolic activation of that cell type, related to the growth of the output of the toxic forms of oxygen. The changes revealed were found to be dependent on the activity of inflammation and volume of infiltration in the pulmonary tissue. The functional changes in leukocytes discovered in patients suffering from acute pneumonia, particularly in those with destruction confirm the possibility that those cells are involved into the pathogenesis of the destructive process.