Effect of burn injury on the kinetics of in vivo polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis to Staphylococcus aureus.

This study investigated the effect of time after burn injury on the kinetics of polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis to Staphylococcus aureus. Rats with 30% body surface area back burns, and nonburned control rats, received several identical inocula of S aureus 3, 6, and 10 days after injury, and in vivo chemotaxis was measured by tissue myeloperoxidase at varying intervals. Animals six and ten days postburn had a delay, as well as a decrease, in maximal chemotactic response. This delay in response appears to be another mechanism by which PMN chemotaxis is affected by burn injury.