The NBT test in burned patients.

The number of polymorphs which stained with the dye nitro-blue tetrazolium (NBT "Positive") increased sharply during the first week after burning, reaching levels 4--5 times above values for healthy volunteers. In burns of more than 20% of the body surface a second, smaller increase in the number of NBT "positives" occurred 4 to 6 weeks after burning. The high levels of NBT "positive" polymorphs occurred independently of infection on the burns. A burned patient who died from septicaemia had very low numbers of NBT "positive" polymorphs for 3 weeks before death.