Original Contribution
The American Journal of Gastroenterology (2007) 102, 1230–1236; doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2007.01182.x
Development of an Experimental Model of Induced Bacterial Peritonitis in Cirrhotic Rats With or Without Ascites
Elisabet Sánchez1,7, José Such MD2,7, Maite Teresa Chiva1, Germán Soriano MD1,7, Teresa Llovet3, Javier Mercè MD4, Francisco Sancho MD5, Carlos Muñoz MD2,7, Xiao-yu Song6, Miguel Pérez-Mateo MD2,7, Joaquín Balanzó MD1,7 and Carlos Guarner MD1,7
- 1Liver Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Autonomous University, Barcelona, Spain
- 2Liver Unit, Hospital General Universitario, Alicante, Spain
- 3Department of Microbiology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Autonomous University, Barcelona, Spain
- 4Department of Biochemistry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Autonomous University, Barcelona, Spain
- 5Department of Pathology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Autonomous University, Barcelona, Spain
- 6Research and Development Centocor, Malvern, Pennsylvania
- 7CIBERehd, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Correspondence: Carlos Guarner, MD, Liver Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Mas Casanovas 90, 08041 Barcelona, Spain.
Received 13 September 2006; Accepted 8 January 2007.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe complication of cirrhotic patients associated with a high mortality.
AIM:
To develop an available experimental model of induced bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis.
MATERIAL
Sprague-Dawley rats with carbon-tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis with (N = 22) or without (N = 101)
AND METHODS:
ascites were randomized to receive an intraperitoneal administration of different concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) diluted in 1 mL of sterile water in ascitic rats and in different volumes in nonascitic rats. A subgroup of nonascitic animals received ceftriaxone 4 h after E. coli inoculation. Mortality of rats was evaluated 24 h after bacterial inoculation.
RESULTS:
None of the rats receiving sterile water alone and only one infected with 107 cfu of E. coli died. Ascitic rats showed a lower mortality rate than nonascitic rats infected with 108 or 109 cfu of E. coli (P < 0.05). Mortality was higher with 109 cfu than with 108 cfu of E. coli in ascitic (P NS) and nonascitic (P < 0.01) rats. A trend was noted to ward higher mortality in nonascitic rats inoculated with 108 cfu with increasing water volumes. A marked peritoneal polymorphonuclear cell response was observed 4 h after E. coli injection in both ascitic and nonascitic rats. Antibiotic therapy significantly reduced the mortality rate of rats infected with 108 cfu (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS:
This experimental model of induced bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis with or without ascites may represent a useful tool for the study of pathogenic events postinfection and for the design of new therapeutic strategies to treat patients with SBP.
