Pharmacology
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The present study was designed to investigate the effects of fluid administration on survival in endotoxemic or septicemic male Sprague-Dawley rats. Endotoxemia was induced by intravenous injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and septicemia produced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). In endotoxemic animals deprived of fluid resuscitation, 7-day survival following injection of LPS at doses of 1, 3, or 10 mg/kg LPS were 70% (n = 10), 30% (n = 10), and 0% (n = 10), respectively. ⋯ The improvement in survival with fluid infusion in the LPS and CLP models cannot be attributed to catheter implantation, or to improved hemodynamic parameters in the LPS model. The improvement in survival in the LPS model with fluid infusion was associated with attenuated increases in TNF alpha levels. Furthermore, these studies illustrate that fluid-resuscitated and nonfluid-resuscitated experimental animal models should not be considered equivalent.