Blood polymorphonuclear dysfunction in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis

Abstract

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte function was investigated in 20 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 3 patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis. Bacterial ingestion, oxygen-dependent bactericidal capacity and chemotactic response were measured. Serum dependent abnormalities were common; they included deficiencies of ingestion and of all subsequent oxygen-dependent metabolic events (3 patients), all oxygen-dependent metabolic events (1 patient), cytochrome c reduction and iodination deficiencies (6 patients), isolated cytochrome c reduction deficiency (10 patients), and chemotactic deficiencies (14 out of 18 patients). Serum-independent abnormalities were much less common; they included increased ingestion rate (4 patients), decreased stimulated reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium (3 patients) and decreased myeloperoxidase content (8 patients). Polymorphonuclear leukocyte abnormalities are frequent in cirrhosis and may account in part for increased susceptibility to infection in that disease.