Phagocytosis in neonates: determination of normal values for the micro technique phagocytosis and intracellular death of Candida Albicans
Protect the host against strange agents is the main function of the immune system. Thus the innate immunity is the first line of defensemainly through physical and chemical barriers, and the phagocytosis mediated by the polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). The neonates are considered immunologically immature, which makes them more susceptible to pathogenic microorganism.
One of the variations that seem to increment the risk of bacterial infections is the abnormality of the phagocytic system, which can lead to a deficiency in the ability of the PMN to phagocytose and kill microorganisms. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the reference value of the micro-technique of phagocytosis and intracellular death of Candida albicans, is a simple and effective technique that can be used to evaluate the phagocytic function since asses the phagocytic index of each PMN and percentage of intracellular death of phagocytized Candida. We analyzed cord blood samples from fifty one healthy neonates.The index of phagocytosis found was 2.64 (SD 0.51) (1.71 to 3.77) and median of percentage of intracellular death was 20% with P25 (18%), P75 (23%), ( 13 to 38%). The reference value using the same technique for adults are: phagocytosis index 2.7 (2.03-3.92) and percentage of intracellular death 31.31% (21-39%).
