Dynamic change of blood profile in rat models with acute skin injury artificially infected with methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>

Background and Aim: A wound is a common problem for humans and animals. The wound becomes more severe if it is infected by bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The wound healing mechanism involves various factors, either in the local tissue or the bloodstream. However, the presentation of infected wound healing regarding its impacts on the dynamic change of blood profile is not clearly understood. This study aimed to explore the impacts of wound creation on the blood profile in rat models with and without being artificially infected by MRSA. Materials and Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 months old; weight, 300 g) were used as the model. They were divided into three groups: Without wound creation (C), wounded without infection (CW), and wounded and artificially infected by MRSA (CWI). Groups CW and CWI were shaved and induced with 4 mm two-round full-thickness biopsy on the back. Furthermore, group CWI was artificially infected by 105 colony-forming units of MRSA. The blood samples were collected through the tail vein from days 1 to 5. The blood parameters included blood profile, total plasma protein, C-reactive protein, CD4(+), CD8(+), CD4(+)/CD8(+), and COX-2. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 16 (SPSS, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The result showed that the presentation of a wound with and without MRSA infection significantly changed the total erythrocytes, leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, total plasma protein, C-reactive protein, and the subset of circulatory CD4(+), CD8(+), and COX-2 (p<0.05). In addition, the wound infected with MRSA impacts the mean corpuscular volume (p<0.05). Conclusion: Moreover, the presentation of the wound with and without MRSA infection induces dynamic changes on various blood profile parameters.