Assay of phagocyte activation by means of malondialdehyde and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence during uneventful wound healing following trauma surgery.

The purpose of the study was the assessment of the acute inflammatory response in patients (N=12) with comparable trauma severity and uneventful wound healing courses in the postsurgical period as a contribution to the search for objectifiable criteria in the monitoring of wound healing. Whole blood chemiluminescence (CL) on the one hand and the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) on the other hand as tools for the detection of the respiratory burst activity of phagocytes were used as inflammation markers and were compared with the established marker PMN elastase. Blood samples were withdrawn daily from the day of surgery to the 14th postsurgical day. CL-parameters and PMN elastase increased postoperatively reflecting surgical trauma, while MDA remained within the normal range during the whole time of observation. A decrease of CL-activity in the postsurgical period correlated with decreasing PMN elastase levels (r=0.52, P<0.0001) as web as with the tapering of local inflammation signs concerning the wound situs. MDA values neither correlated with PMN elastase nor with any CL-parameters. The results indicate that the measurement of the phagocytic activation by CL, used for the first time in traumatology to monitor wound healing, represents a promising marker for the assessment of the actual inflammatory status.