Neutrophil Migration Activity (NMA) - A new migration test for the monitoring of wound healing in traumatology?

A new PMN migration test was introduced in traumatology to measure the acute, inflammatory response after surgery in a patient with uncomplicated wound healing and in a case of acute, early postoperative infection. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocyte (PMN) - behaviour was studied by quantifying the neutrophil migration activity (NMA), which combines PMN-stimulation and PMN-distribution in a migration filter device simulating "in vivo"-conditions. While in uncomplicated wound healing the NMA was within the normal range, in an acute, early infection migratory stimulation reached a maximum on the 5th postsurgical day followed by a decrease during the following days. This decrease is probably an expression of an increased PMN-turnover and excessive phagocytosis. PMN-behaviour changing from migration to phagocytosis is regarded as an indicator of wound healing complications before clinical symptoms occur.