[Biochemical wound monitoring. PMN elastase in different healing stages after trauma surgery-orthopedic interventions].

Laboratory parameters are of proven value in the diagnosis of early postsurgical infections, since clinical aspects cannot always be clearly defined. Neutrophil granulocytes (PMN) are major inflammatory cells taking effect following ingestion and degradation of foreign material, such as bacteria and cell debris, for example after mechanical trauma. In patients who had undergone surgery we monitored the course of plasma PMN elastase in uncomplicated wound healing (n = 22), in uncomplicated wound healing associated with secondary infections (n = 6), and in defective wound healing (manifestation of a bacterial wound infection: n = 3; wound infection already manifest at the time of entry on study: n = 11). Surgical trauma was accompanied by an increase in PMN elastase and C-reactive protein (CRP) in all patients studied, reaching a maximum within the first 3 postsurgical days. When a bacterial wound infection became manifest during the course of healing there was a highly significant difference on the 4th postsurgical day (p < 0.01) compared with the group with uncomplicated healing. Since PMN elastase can now be determined automatically with an autoanalyser and a commercial kit and its discriminatory time point is as soon as 4-5 days after surgery, it is suggested that this marker should be determined routinely together with CRP in traumatology.