[The nitroblue tetrazolium test in scarlet fever (author's transl)].

The nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test was originally used to diagnose chronic granulomatous disease in childhood. Now it is applied in the diagnosis of acute bacterial infectious diseases, too. The NBT reduction of neutrophils was tested in 27 children with scarlet fever using the modified technique described by K i m et al. The tests were performed in 24 patients between the second and fourth day of illness, before starting antibiotic treatment. In accordance with the results obtained by Humbert et al. in a series of patients with various infectious diseases, 83% of the investigated children showed NBT values of between 41% and 95% (mean value 72%). The percentage of NBT-positive cells was likewise raised in cases of recurrent scarlet fever. Children with scarlet fever complications had highly elevated NBT-reduction values. The control group, consisting of children without infectious diseases, showed values of between 28% and 66% (mean value 33%).