ENDOGENEOUS AND EXPERIMENTAL PERITONITIS AND 

 BACTEREMIA IN HYPOTHERMIC MICE 



G, Tunevall and T. Lindner 



Central Bacteriology Laboratory 



Box 177 



Stockholm 1, Sweden 



ABSTRACT 



In experiments with mice, hypothermia at 22° C to 23° C, when maintained for 

 more than 40 hours, almost invariably resulted in the emergence of bacteria in peri- 

 toneal fluid and blood. Klebsiellae, rapidly eliminated in normal mice, diminished 

 in number only during a period of 2-4 hours, but thereafter increased again in hypo- 

 thermic mice and caused a profuse bacteraemia. As antibacterial treatment reduced 

 the incidence of peritonitis and bacteraemia without increasing the average survival 

 time in hypothermia, the bacterial invasion is not likely to be of major importance 

 for debilitation and death, but rather a concomitant phenomenon. In subsequent series 

 of experiments, groups of mice were inoculated intraperitoneal ly with pneumococcal 

 suspensions. The following observations were made; the increase in numbers of pneu- 

 mococci in the blood was slower in hypothermic mice, the establishment of bacteraemia 

 occurred later in such mice, and pneumonic alterations in the lungs were less common 

 in hypothermic mice. In warming up of hypothermic mice, the events in all these re- 

 spects were accelerated to equalize the eventual results in these animals with those 

 of the normothermic controls. 



I. Endogeneous Peritonitis and Bacteremia 



The concept of "endogeneous bacteremia" has been created in 

 connection with studies on the effect of irradiation and cortisone 

 treatment of animals (Bennetetal.,1951;Berlinet al., 1952; Fallow- 

 field, 1962; Gledhill and Rees, 1952; Hammond et al., 1954; Miller 

 et al., 1950; Miller et al.,1952;Philipsonand Laurell, 1958; Sanders 

 et al., 19 57). It is conceivable that this condition, generally appearing 

 as an invasion of the blood stream by bacteria normally present in 

 the intestine, may also take place in hypothermia, as this state is 

 known to interfere with several mechanisms taking part in the anti- 



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