Effect of abdominal insufflation on bacterial growth in experimental peritonitis.

BACKGROUND: Perforated appendicitis can be treated laparoscopically, but this approach is associated with a higher rate of intra-abdominal abscess. Pneumoperitoneum impairs the clearance of bacteria from the peritoneal cavity in experimental models of peritonitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intra-abdominal gas insufflation on bacterial growth in a rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of intraperitoneal insufflation with different gases and a gasless model on bacterial proliferation in a setting of Escherichia coli-induced experimental peritonitis were studied in a rat model. Saline (0.25 mL) was given intraperitoneally to six Wistar male rats as the sham group. Escherichia coli (1.5 x 10(9) cfu/mL per kilogram) was injected intraperitoneally into to 24 rats. Microorganism counts were taken after 8 hours, and rats were divided into three groups: group 1, CO2 insufflation; group 2, N2O insufflation; and group 3, no insufflation. Microorganism counts were repeated 8 hours after the procedure (at 16 hours postinjection). RESULTS: The difference in microorganism counts between 8 and 16 hours were significant in the CO2 and N2O insufflation groups (P < 0.05) but not in the group without pneumoperitoneum. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal insufflation may promote intra-abdominal bacterial growth or decrease intra-abdominal bacterial clearance.

Evaluation of non-invasive clinical samples in chronic chlamydial prostatitis by using in situ hybridization.

Seventy-eight non-invasive prostate specimens collected from patients with chronic non-bacterial prostatitis were evaluated by in situ hybridization (IH) for evidence of Chlamydia trachomatis. Intracellular Chlamydia bodies were detected in 18 of 78 cases (20.6%). Homogeneous blue-black bodies in the cellular cytoplasm were accepted as in situ positive. Chlamydial antigen detected by enzyme immuno assay (EIA) was positive in 12 cases (13.7%), but only nine of them were positive by IH. Our study confirms previous reports implicating C. trachomatis as an aetiological agent in chronic non-bacterial prostatitis, and underscores the applicability of DNA probes for detection and identification of C. trachomatis in prostatic materials.