Neutrophil function in clinical kidney allograft recipients.

The peripheral blood neutrophils from 17 kidney transplant recipients were studied for their ability to phagocytose and kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro. Practically all of the percent phagocytosis values were within the normal range but many of the neutrophil samples demonstrated a reduced ability to kill ingested P. aeruginosa, particularly within the 3 month period immediately after transplant. Of the 17 patients studied, ten were found to have neutrophils with a reduced capacity to kill the test bacteria. These defects in bactericidal capacity were found in patients who received antihuman-lymphocyte globulin (ALG), large doses of methylprednisolone for rejection, and mostly in subclinical infection with Pseudomonas or other gram-negative bacterial species.