Mortality rate and bacteremia, endotoxin, and endothelin-1 levels in antibiotic therapy for E. coli septic peritonitis.

In order to study the mortality rate and bacteremia, plasma endotoxin, and plasma endothelin-1 levels in antibiotic therapy for E. coli peritonitis, blood samples were obtained from rats given intraperitoneal injections of latamoxef or placebo. Intraperitoneal injections of latamoxef improved the prognosis of peritonitis rats. Two h after treatment, bacteremia levels were noticeably higher in rats treated with placebo than in rats treated with latamoxef, but the latamoxef-treated group manifested a significant elevation of plasma endotoxin and endothelin-1 levels compared to the placebo-treated group. The results of this study demonstrate that treating E. coli septic peritonitis with selected antibiotics induces increased plasma endotoxin levels, which are associated with elevation of plasma endothelin-1 levels.