MESENTERIC MICROCIRCULATORY DYSFUNCTIONS AND TRANSLOCATION OF INDIGENOUS BACTERIA IN A RAT MODEL OF STRANGULATED SMALL BOWEL OBSTRUCTION

and translocation of indigenous bacteria in a rat model of strangulated small bowel obstruction. Clinics. 2009;64(9):911-9. PRUPOSE: Bacterial translocation has been shown to occur in critically ill patients after extensive trauma, shock, sepsis, or ther-mal injury. The present study investigates mesenteric microcirculatory dysfunctions, the bacterial translocation phenomenon, and hemodynamic/metabolic disturbances in a rat model of intestinal obstruction and ischemia. METHODS: Anesthetized (pentobarbital 50 mg/kg, i.p.) male Wistar rats (250-350 g) were submitted to intestinal obstruction or laparotomy without intestinal obstruction (Sham) and were evaluated 24 hours later. Bacterial translocation was assessed by bacte-rial culture of the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), liver, spleen, and blood. Leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the mesenteric microcirculation were assessed by intravital microscopy, and P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 expressions were quantified by immunohistochemistry. Hematocrit, blood gases, lactate, glucose, white blood cells, serum urea, creatinine, bilirubin, and hepatic enzymes were measured. RESULTS: About 86 % of intestinal obstruction rats presented positive cultures for E. coli in samples of the mesenteric lymp