Correlation between pseudomonas burn wound infection and granulocyte antibacterial activity.

The relationship of granulocyte bactericidal activity with three strains of pseudomonas and the virulence of these same organisms in a scald-burned rat model was investigated. Resistance to bactericidal activity was measured for each strain, using an in vitro assay and normal rat peritoneal granulocytes. Mortality was recorded for rats receiving a 30% third-degree scald burn with simultaneous pseudomonas burn wound infection. A positive correlation between mortality and resistance to bactericidal activity of granulocytes was obtained. These studies stress the importance of pseydomonas strain specificity in burn wound infection and indicate that mortality from these strains may be specifically related to their resistance to the bactericidal activity of leukocytes.