Intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical inhibits bacterial translocation associated with severe acute pancreatitis.

Bacterial translocation from gut has been assumed to be an infectious source in severe acute pancreatitis. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical on bacterial translocation associated with rat experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Severe necrotizing pancreatitis was induced by retrograde injection of 3% sodium deoxycholate into the biliopancreatic ducts of male Wistar rats. Although mortality rate was not improved by the treatment, intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical, perfulorodecalin reduced incidence of bacterial translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes from 60% to 37% 12 hours after development of pancreatitis, and significantly reduced number of bacterial colonies detected after 24 hours. The treatment did not alter the villous height and crypt depth of the ileum. In this model for pancreatitis, however, accelerated apoptosis of the intestinal epithelium was detected histochemically by TUNEL staining and biochemically by DNA fragmentation ELISA, and the apoptotic changes were significantly suppressed by the treatment. These results indicate that intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical inhibits apoptosis of intestinal epithelium and bacterial translocation induced in severe acute pancreatitis.