Serum from 23 of 26 patients with fulminant hepatic failure and grade IV encephalopathy had defective opsonisation of E. coli and yeast (S. cerevisiae). No toxic serum factors acting on the polymorphonuclear leucocytes or inactivators of the normal serum opsonisation factors were found. Complement deficiency was shown to be the most likely cause of the defect in opsonisation. The addition of a ...
