The effects of desferrioxamin and vitamin E as supplements to antibiotics in the treatment of peritonitis in rats.

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the effects of vitamin E and the iron chelating agent desferrioxamin (Dfx), supplemented by clindamycin and gentamycin therapy, on peritonitis caused by caecal ligation of a puncture wound in an experimental model.

Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty Spraque Dawley rats were divided into eight groups. Three groups were used as controls; intraperitoneal (i.p.), subcutaneous (s.c.) and i.p. and s.c., respectively. Group 4 was treated with Dfx, Group 5 with vitamin E and Group 6 with antibiotics. Group 7 was treated with vitamin E in combination with antibiotics, and Group 8 with a combination of antibiotics and Dfx. The rats were studied for 14 days following treatment, and survivors then humanely dispatched. Post-mortem examination was undertaken on all the rats studied.

Results: In the control groups, mortality at 14 days was 66%. Rats treated with antibiotics alone (Group 5) had a mortality rate of 40%. Those treated with a combination of antibiotics and vitamin E (Group 7), however, had a mortality rate of only 14%, and those treated with antibiotics and Dfx had a mortality rate of only 7%.

Conclusion: This study suggests that treatment of peritonitis in rats with a combination of Dfx and antibiotics has a significant beneficial effect on survival, in comparison with treatment with antibiotics alone.