Skin window studies in neutropenic patients: the effect of splenomegaly

Summary The skin window (SW) has been used to investigate the local phlogistic response in 18 normal volunteers, in 36 neutropenic patients with or without splenomegaly and in 10 patients with a large spleen without neutropenia. The appearance of polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) on the abraded area was always depressed in neutropenia at the third hour. After that period the neutropenic patients with splenomegaly showed a normal PMN response, [n contrast, in neutropenic patients with a normal spleen, the PMN migration on the SW was virtually absent. Moreover patients with hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) presented a reduction of mononuclear cell infiltration on the SW. The SW represents therefore an useful tool to study in vivo the flogistic response and to distinguish between‘true and pseudo’neutropenia.