Outcome of pneumococcal challenge in rats after splenic artery ligation or splenectomy.

Reports of postsplenectomy septicemia led to development of various methods for splenic salvage, including ligation of the splenic artery. For study of susceptibility to pneumococci after splenectomy or splenic artery ligation, 35 Sprague-Dawley rats, in three groups, underwent splenectomy or central ligation of the splenic artery, or sham operation with omental resection. Blood cell counts prior to injection of pneumococci (3 X 10(3) intravenously in each rat) showed no intergroup differences. All the splenectomized rats died, but only 20% of those with splenic artery ligation (p = 0.000047). None of the rats with sham operation died, but this was not significantly different from the mortality in the group with splenic artery ligation (p = 0.22).