Lack of correlation between decreased chemotaxis and susceptibility to infection in burned rats

This study examined the relationship between chemotaxis and susceptibility to infection. Rats were subjected to a 30% BSA burn to the dorsum of the back and resuscitated. Rats with burns from 1 to 11 days old were injected with varying inocula of S. aureus into nonburned skin. Animals with burns more than 6 days old had significantly decreased PMN chemotaxis into the inoculation site but had no increase in susceptibility to infection. This lack of correlation between PMN chemotaxis and susceptibility to infection suggests that PMN motility is not the dependent factor in resistance to infection from S. aureus in this burn model.