Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Experimental Pathology logoLink to British Journal of Experimental Pathology
. 1973 Apr;54(2):142–151.

Experimental Bacterial Endocarditis

III. Production and Progress of the Disease in Rabbits

D T Durack, P B Beeson, R G Petersdorf
PMCID: PMC2072580  PMID: 4700697

Abstract

A simple and reliable model for endocarditis in rabbits has been studied and standardized. Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis was produced on either side of the heart by the presence of a polyethylene catheter. One day later, this was converted into bacterial endocarditis by single intravenous injections of streptococci, staphylococci, Proteus and Candida. No infection resulted from injection of L-forms or virus. Reduction of inoculum size or withdrawal of the catheter reduced the incidence of bacterial endocarditis, but the presence of a catheter in the heart for only a few minutes predisposed to infection. Left-sided Streptococcus viridans infection was uniformly fatal, with average survival of about two weeks. Right-sided infection was not always fatal; approximately 25% of infected vegetations healed spontaneously.

The advantages of a standardized model for endocarditis which allows exact timing of infection are discussed.

Full text

PDF
146

Images in this article

144-1Figs. 1-2
on p.144-1

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Burch G. E., DePasquale N. P., Sun S. C., Hale A. R., Mogabgab W. J. Experimental coxsackievirus endocarditis. JAMA. 1966 Apr 25;196(4):349–352. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Davis J. M., Moss A. J., Schenk E. A. Tricuspid candida endocarditis complicating a permanently implanted transvenous pacemaker. Am Heart J. 1969 Jun;77(6):818–821. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(69)90418-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Durack D. T., Beeson P. B. Experimental bacterial endocarditis. I. Colonization of a sterile vegetation. Br J Exp Pathol. 1972 Feb;53(1):44–49. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Freedman L. R., Johnson M. L. Experimental endocarditis. IV. Tricuspid and aortic valve infection with Candida albicans in rabbits. Yale J Biol Med. 1972 Apr;45(2):163–175. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Garrison P. K., Freedman L. R. Experimental endocarditis I. Staphylococcal endocarditis in rabbits resulting from placement of a polyethylene catheter in the right side of the heart. Yale J Biol Med. 1970 Jun;42(6):394–410. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HIGHMAN B., ALTLAND P. D. A new method for the production of experimental bacterial endocarditis. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1950 Nov;75(2):573–577. doi: 10.3181/00379727-75-18270. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hamburger M., Gall E. A., Scott N. C. Distribution of intravenously inoculated staphylococci in heart valves and viscera. A study in dogs with and without aortic insufficiency. Arch Intern Med. 1971 Mar;127(3):496–503. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hamburger M., Garancis J. C., Scott N. J., Carleton J., Beasley J. S. Studies in experimental staphylococcal endocarditis in dogs. V. Treatment with oxacillin. J Lab Clin Med. 1967 Nov;70(5):786–799. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jones J. E. The experimental production of streptococcal endocarditis in the pig. J Pathol. 1969 Dec;99(4):307–318. doi: 10.1002/path.1710990406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Loewe L., Rosenblatt P., Lederer M. Experimental Thrombotic Bacterial (Streptococcus Viridans) Endocarditis: I. Its Production and Incidence in the Rabbit. Am J Pathol. 1944 Jan;20(1):89–93. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Macneal W. J., Spence M. J., Wasseen M. Experimental production of endocarditis lenta. Am J Pathol. 1939 Nov;15(6):695–706.3. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McGee Z. A., Ratner H. B., Bryant R. E., Rosenthal A. S., Koenig M. G. An antibody-complement system in human serum lethal to L-phase variants of bacteria. J Infect Dis. 1972 Mar;125(3):231–242. doi: 10.1093/infdis/125.3.231. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Perlman B. B., Freedman L. R. Experimental endocarditis. 3. Natural history of catheter induced staphylococcal endocarditis following catheter removal. Yale J Biol Med. 1971 Oct;44(2):214–224. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Perlman B. B., Freedman L. R. Experimental endocarditis. II. Staphylococcal infection of the aortic valve following placement of a polyethylene catheter in the left side of the heart. Yale J Biol Med. 1971 Oct;44(2):206–213. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. WALKER W. F., HAMBURGER M. A study of experimental, staphylococcal endocarditis in dogs. I. Production of the disease, its natural history, and tissue bacteriology. J Lab Clin Med. 1959 Jun;53(6):931–941. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wellmann K. F., Reinhard A., Salazar E. P. Polyethylene catheter embolism. Review of the literature and report of a case with associated fatal tricuspid and systemic candidiasis. Circulation. 1968 Mar;37(3):380–392. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.37.3.380. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Winterbauer R. H., Gutman L. T., Turck M., Wedgwood R. J., Petersdorf R. G. The role of penicillin-induced bacterial variants in experimental pyelonephritis. J Exp Med. 1967 Apr 1;125(4):607–618. doi: 10.1084/jem.125.4.607. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Experimental Pathology are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES