Neutrophil dynamics in abdominal cavity of peritonitic rats treated with antiseptics.

Peritonitis was induced in Wistar rats by intraperitoneal inoculation of pure Escherichia coli. Rats in which 2 ml of 1% povidone iodine had been injected intraperitoneally 5 min after the bacterial challenge, showed a decrease in the neutrophil percentage of the peritoneal cell population during the first hours of peritonitis compared to the control group. When the same experiment was performed with 2 ml of 0.05% chlorhexidine the percentage of neutrophils was superior to the control group in the first hours after bacterial challenge. These results concur with a previous study in which the deleterious effect of povidone iodine and the beneficial effect of chlorhexidine were demonstrated.