Treatment with enrofloxacin reduces morbidity and increases bacterial clearance in irradiated and hindlimb suspension mice systemically challenged with <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.

<p>Groups of 10 mice per treatment group were irradiated with 2 Gy of gamma rays and hindlimb suspended or not and injected subcutaneously with either PBS or enrofloxacin (10 mg/kg) every 12 hrs starting 12 hrs before bacterial challenge. All groups were exposed to <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> by intraperitoneal injection and followed. Morbidity scores (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120126#pone.0120126.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>) were calculated daily (A) and animals were considered morbid if their score increased by 3 points or remained 2 points elevated for more than 24 hrs. C = control, R + S = irradiated + hindlimb suspended. (B) Bacteremia was quantitated 5 days after challenge by diluting and plating blood followed by colony counting. Values are means ± SEM of log₁₀ of colony-forming units (CFU). One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons was used to test statistical significance of changes in CFUs in blood. Statistical significance of Kaplan-Meier curves was measured by Mantel-Cox log rank test.