Local and systemic immune response to surgery under balanced anaesthesia in children

Summary We studied perioperative changes in the immune response and compared changes in the peripheral blood with those in the wound in 20 boys (0.5–3 years) during elective inguinal surgery under balanced anaesthesia. Blood samples were drawn before premedication, immediately, and 4 or 24 h after anaesthesia. Cells from the wound were harvested with the Cellstick device, removed from the wound 4 (n=10) or 24 h (n=10) after anaesthesia. We found decreased lymphocyte counts in the peripheral blood, increased percentages of activated T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, and decreased percentages of total T lymphocytes, T helper cells and T cytotoxic cells. The percentages of T helper cells and B lymphocytes were lower in the wound than in blood. Mitogen‐induced lymphocyte proliferative responses decreased. This study demonstrates perioperative changes in the immune response in children and, as a new finding, that immune effector cells in the blood and in the wound are in a dynamic balance.