Detection of intraabdominal abscess by serum lysozyme estimation.

Background. The failure of new, innovative, and often expensive tests to show the presence of intraabdominal infection caused us to reexamine the value of an inexpensive and almost forgotten one. Lysozyme is a bacteriolytic enzyme located within the lysosomes of phagocytic cells including leukocytes, Methods. We measured serum concentrations of lysozyme by a standard turbidimetric method in both a murine model of intraabdominal infection and in trauma patients with intraabdominal abscesses or other acquired infections, Results. In mice with intraabdominal abscess secondary to cecal ligation and puncture (n=35) serum lysozyme activity increased compared with sham-operated controls (n=20; p<0.007)