Fig 1. Visceral surgery interferes with the responsiveness to Staphylococcus aureus.

Peripheral blood from “patients 1” was drawn 1 d before (-1) and 1 d (+1), 5 d (+5), and 7 d (+7) after surgery. PBMC were isolated and stimulated with inactivated S. aureus. The amount of IFN-γ in the supernatant was quantified. Results are expressed as scatter plot (median, interquartile range). Statistical differences were tested using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. n = 20; *, p<0.05 vs. day -1.