Nitroblue tetrazolium test in patients with Hodgkin's disease in the course of chemotherapy.

In 41 patients with Hodgkin's disease nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye reduction with resting and stimulated granulocytes, before, in the course and after chemotherapy was examined. Twofold decrease of the capability of NBT reduction test with stimulated granulocytes was found, whereas with resting granulocytes only slight diminution was noted. Chemotherapy did not improve the tested parameters. No relationship was observed between the stage of disease and the presence of systemic symptoms and the NBT dye reduction. It can be assumed that granulocytes from patients with Hodgkin's disease are resistant to stimulation. The observations suggest that NBT test may be useful for evaluation of the function of granulocytes and to some extent for monitoring of the chemotherapy.