IMPAIRED BACTERIAL KILLING IN EARLY OBSTRUCTIVE-JAUNDICE

Sprague-Dawley rats were challenged with intraperitoneal injection of 10(7) Streptococcus pneumoniae 10 days after common duct ligation (BDL ) or sham celiotomy (SC). Quantitative bacterial cultures were perform ed on liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and heart blood samples obtained 4 hours after injection. All 13 (100%) BDL animals had positive heart bl ood cultures, but only 6 of 12 (50%) SC animals remained bacteremic (p <0.05). Significantly more viable organisms were recovered from lung, liver, spleen, and kidney of BDL animals compared with SC controls. B DL impaired the host's ability to kill this encapsulated gram-positive organism. Viable bacteria remained in all organs studied, which was a ssociated with continuing bacteremia.