TUNEVALL AND LINDNER 

 change of the intestinal flora was effected by the hypothermia. 



The elimination from the blood stream of injected bacteria was 

 found to be disturbed in hypothermic animals, and even to a greater 

 extent in long periods of hypothermia. Klebsiellae rapidly eliminated 

 in normal mice diminished in number only during a period of 2 to 4 

 hours, but thereafter increased again and caused prof use bacteremia 

 in hjTJOthermic mice. 



Treatment with a sulpha- streptomycin combination provoked a 

 shift of the intestinal flora towards a dominance of enterococci and 

 diminished considerably the incidence of bacteria in peritoneal fluid 

 and in blood,but did not influence the survival time of hypothermic 

 mice. 



It can be concluded that deep and prolonged hypothermia in mice 

 results in an invasion ofbacteria from the intestine into the periton- 

 eal cavity or into the blood stream or both. This invasion is not due 

 to any change of the intestinal flora, but may be contributed to by an 

 inability of hypothermic mice to eliminate bacteria from the blood 

 stream. As antibacterial treatmentreduced the incidence of periton- 

 itis and bacteremia but did not increase the survival time of hypo- 

 thermic mice, the bacterial invasion is not likely to be any import- 

 ant factor for debilitation and death, but rather a concomitant 

 phenomenon. 



II. Experimental pneumococcal peritonitis was found not to result 

 in bacteremia as regularly or as early in hypothermic mice as in 

 normothermic controls. Once established, the bacteremia also in- 

 creased in massivity more slowly in hypothermic mice which also 

 had longer average survival time. 



Warming up of the hypothermic mice resulted in a rapidly in- 

 creasing bacteremia and death.or in death not preceded by bacter- 

 emia. This might be due to a diminished resistance as a result of 

 the previous hypothermia, to the trauma inherent in the rewarming 

 procedure, or to an increased susceptibility to bacterial toxins 

 during this process. 



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