[Anesthesia and the chemotaxis of neutrophilic granulocytes in newborn infants].

The authors investigated the modifications of neutrophil chemotaxis and cortisol plasma levels in the newborn delivered by cesarean section or vaginal delivery. Chemotaxis turned out to be higher in the group undergoing cesarean section, while cortisol was lower in this group. The increased activity of neutrophils can be explained with the lessened inhibitory effect of endogenous steroids and with the stimulating action of nitrous oxide.