The effects of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae peritonitis in mice exposed to normal and hypoxic conditions on red cell oxygen transport function.

Normal mice exposed to 10% oxygen concentration developed a slight but statistically significant decrease in blood pH and a slight statistically insignificant decrease in red cell 2,3-DPG. Mice that were infected intraperitoneally with Staphylococcus aureus or Klebsiella pneumoniae and exposed to 20% oxygen developed acidosis, hemoconcentration, and decreased red cell 2,3-DPG levels. When mice with acute bacterial peritonitis were exposed to 10% oxygen concentration they likewise developed significant acidosis and hemoconcentration, but their reduction in red cell 2,3-DPG was not as great as that in the similarly infected mice exposed to 20% oxygen concentration.