Evaluation of chronic granulomatous disease by a chemiluminescence assay of microliter quantities of whole blood.

In our modification of a chemiluminescence assay to detect chronic granulomatous disease of childhood, whole blood is used and dark-adaptation is not required. This improvement was made possible by the use of luminol as an amplification device and of phorbol myristate acetate as a stimulant. Using this simplified assay, we can assess neutrophil function with 25-100 microL of whole blood, permitting simple evaluation even in very young pediatric patients.