Natural host defense mechanisms.

Severe injury, whether the result of a major accident, a large burn, or a complicated surgical operation, often results in sepsis. Under such conditions both specific and nonspecific host defense systems are affected. The individual facets of major concern are chemotaxis, phagocytosis, intracellular killing, complement depletion, and depression of humoral and cellular mediated immunity. The most profound changes occur in cell-mediated immunity. Within a few hours o injury, the number of circulating T cells becomes depleted, concomitantly thoracic duct lymphocytes are markedly reduced. This change is not only quantitative but functional. The clinical impact of these deficient host defense mechanisms lies in the fact that low virulent organisms may become a lethal threat to the injured patient. Currently, investigators are attempting to reverse thse deficiencies through the use of immunotherapy.