[Determination of serum lysozyme in infants with septicemia].

The literature on serum lysozyme was reviewed and the normal values for this enzyme were analyzed in 40 healthy children (control group) and 40 children with a clinical diagnosis of septicemia. The patients were 1 to 18 months old and were hospitalized in the H.P. of the C.M.N., I.M.S.S. In 12 of these, the blood cultures developed bacteria, while 26 were negative. It was found that the normal values varied in healthy children from 5 to 24 microgram/ml. In the group of infected patients, the values varied from 4.4 to 53.3 microgram/ml. The group of healthy patients (control) was compared with the infected patients and a significantly difference was found (p less than 0.05), although in some infected children the readings for lysozyme were normal. In all patients, lysozyme returned to normal when the infection cleared. The mortality rate in this study was 15 per cent. It is concluded that in patients with severe infection, the levels of lysozyme in the serum may the elevated, while in patients with clinical signs of septicemia with positive blood cultures, there is a rise in lysozyme.