The skin window test in rhinoscleroma

The skin window test was applied to evaluate the state of immunity in patients with rhinoscleroma. The use of the patient's own Klebsiella micro-organisms as antigen led to a negligible change in the percentage of lymphoblasts, whereas the use of foreign Klebsiella micro-organisms as antigen resulted in a pronounced change. This finding indicates an impaired cellular immune response. Application of Klebsiella microorganisms as antigen to normal subjects led to a comparatively high percentage of lymphoblastic transformation. This finding suggests the possible use of a standard Klebsiella antigen as a vaccine. The possible use of the skin window test to identify people with deficient T lymphocyte function is discussed as well as its use in monitoring the efficacy of such a vaccine in influencing the cellular immune response.