Toxicity of hemorrhagic ascitic fluid associated with hemorrhagic pancreatitis

C. F. Frey, H. N. Wong, D. Hickman and T. Pullos

Hemorrhagic pancreatitis was induced in dogs by a retrograde infusion of the pancreatic duct with a mixture of taurocholate sodium and trypsin. Seven of the 13 dogs were pretreated with antibiotics. The hemorrhagic ascitic fluid (HAF) recovered from the dogs' abdomens was injected intraperitoneally into mice in volumes of 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mL. The mice were divided into two groups depending on whether the HAF received was from dogs given antibiotics. The mortality among the mice was proportional to the volume of HAF injected. The mortality among mice receiving the sterile HAF was 79.4% at 20 mL, 55.8% at 15 mL, 29.4% at 10 mL, 26% at 5 mL, and 17% at 2.5 mL. There were no deaths among mice receiving 25 mL and saline solution and the mortality was 15% among mice receiving 20 mL of dog plasma.