The Effects of Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Antifungal Drugs on the Phagocytic, Microbicidal, and Chemotactic Functions of the Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte

The bulk of the literature on antimicrobial agents deals with the effects of these drugs on various microorganisms. Their effects on the host have received much less attention. The polymorphonuclear leukocytes, because of their ability to ingest and kill microorganisms, serve as our first line of defense against infection, and an understanding of effects drugs have on these cells is not only desirable but necessary if optimal use of antimicrobial drugs is to be made. Many of the studies that have attempted to examine these effects have used nonhuman cells and concentrations of drugs that are not within the therapeutic range. In addition, studies of phagocytic function in particular have often been done using techniques that do not allow adequate distinction between simple attachment to the surface of the neutrophil and true ingestion, thereby making any conclusions about effects on phagocytosis questionable.