The clinical efficacy of granulocyte transfusions: studies on the oral cavity

Patients with severe granulocytopenia of different origin received granulocyte transfusions. The migration and phagocytic ability of the transfused granulocytes in the oral cavity ("orogranulocytes") served as a parameter for measuring the viability of the granulocytes in vivo. There was no difference between granulocytes collected by continuous flow centrifugation and those collected by filtration leukapheresis. Under the influence of the transfusion treatment mucous membrane ulcers (MMU) subsided and healed. Where ulcers were present the number of orogranulocytes (OG) increased after granulocyte transfusion. In addition there was a significant correlation between the number of granulocytes in the peripheral blood and the number of orogranulocytes. As a control, orogranulocytes were studied in a group of healthy persons with intact teeth, toothless persons with normal blood counts and one patient with an acute agranulocytosis.