Hypercapnic Conditions After Experimental Blunt Chest Trauma Increase Efferocytosis of Alveolar Macrophages and Reduce Local Inflammation.

Blunt chest trauma induces severe local and systemic inflammatory alterations and an accumulation of apoptotic polymorphonuclear granulocytes (aPMN) in the lungs, frequently followed by bacterial infection. Alveolar macrophages (AM) represent one of the main actors for their clearance. However, little is known regarding regulatory and influencing factors of AM efferocytic and phagocytic activities.