title: Intravenous inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus in pigs induces severe sepsis as indicated by increased hypercoagulability and hepatic dysfunction.
abstract: Nine pigs were inoculated intravenously once or twice with 10(8) Staphylococcus aureus per kilogram body weight and sacrificed 12, 24 and 48 h after inoculation. Three sham-infected pigs served as controls. Blood samples were taken for bacteriology, haematology and clinical chemistry. A necropsy was carried out and tissue samples were collected for bacteriology and histology. The onset of clinical disease was seen at 7-8 h after inoculation. The blood bacterial counts remained low throughout the study. All infected pigs developed sepsis characterized by fever, neutrophilia, increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6, and decreased levels of serum iron. The CRP and IL-6 levels peaked at 36 h, whereas IL-1beta and tumour necrosis factor-alpha showed no obvious changes. Thromboelastography showed increasing hypercoagulability from 12 h and onwards, whereas the platelet numbers declined slightly throughout the experiment. The levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase and bilirubin were elevated at 24 and 36 h. In conclusion, sepsis and severe sepsis were induced as evidenced by dysfunction of the blood clotting system and the liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. ple@life.ku.dk
authors.forename: Páll S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Leifsson
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iburg
authors.forename: Henrik E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Jørgen S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Agerholm
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kjelgaard-Hansen
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wiinberg
authors.forename: Peter M H
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Heegaard
authors.forename: Laerke B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Astrup
authors.forename: Anna E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: Mette G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Skov
authors.forename: Bent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aalbaek
authors.forename: Ole L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Nielsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D010976:Platelet Count; D011897:Random Allocation; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein