Neutrophil chemotaxis in acutely infected and clinically stable cystic fibrosis patients

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of neutrophi l chemotaxis in cystic fibrosis (CF) and to also determine whether an acute bacterial infection and the nutritional status of a child can affect neutr ophil chemotaxis. Methods: Twelve acutely infected and 12 clinically stable CF patients and 1 0 healthy age-matched controls were studied. Neutrophil chemotaxis and rand om migration were investigated in vitro in the peripheral blood of subjects by the Boyden chamber method and the results were expressed as chemotactic index (CI). The nutritional status of the cases was evaluated as body mass index (BMI). Results: The CI values in the acutely infected group were found to be signi ficantly lower than the clinically stable and healthy control groups (P < 0 .05 and P < 0.005, respectively). There was no significant difference betwe en the clinically stable CF group and the healthy control group (P > 0.1). No significant correlation was detected between the CI and BMI of the two g roups of CF patients (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The present study confirms that neutrophil chemotaxis and rand om migration are normal in clinically stable CF patients. The decreased CI in the acutely infected patients indicates the possible role of infection i tself on neutrophil chemotaxis.