Critically ill patients: immunological evidence of inflammation in muscle biopsy

Aim and method: To verify whether muscle necrosis in critically ill patient s could be due to an inflammatory process, we tested muscle biopsies from f ive intensive care patients with different inflammation-specific immunocyto chemical markers (antibodies anti-class I major histocompatibility complex products (class I MHCP or HLA I), membrane attack complex (MAC), T lymphocy tes helper-inducer (CD4), cytotoxic (CD8) and pan-B-lymphocytes).Results: I n three patients muscle biopsy showed class I MHCP positivity on the surfac e membrane of several groups of fibres, mainly perifascicular, and scattere d microvascular deposits of MAC. In the other two patients muscle biopsy di d not show class I MHCP and MAC positivity.Conclusion: Our results suggest that inflammation may be a component of muscle damage in some critically il l patients.