Effect of acute burn trauma on phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system in rats.

The effect of acute burn trauma on phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system measured in vivo with technetium 99m sulfur colloid was examined in rats subjected to acute burn trauma. After the scald injuries (10-second, full-thickness burns) were induced, a reduction in phagocytic activity by the spleen took place with an accompanying increase in the uptake of colloid material by the lungs. Uptake of colloid material by the liver was essentially unchanged. These uptake changes, observed within hours after the inducement of acute burn trauma and apparently continuing for 7 days after burn injury, may explain, in part, the development of septicemia in patients with burns because altered phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system can result in subsequent overabundance of microorganisms and bacteria in the blood.