Table 1. Biometrics of Vehicle Control and P. aeruginosa-Infected Animals ^a .

	Vehicle	PA103	ΔPcrV	ΔU/ΔT	P value
Temperature (rectal, °C)	37.1 ± 0.1	38.8 ± 0.3 c	37.3 ± 0.2	38.2 ± 0.3 c	0.0069 b
Total leukocytes (counts/µL)	5293 ± 592	6497 ± 516	6530 ± 35	4433 ± 371	0.0540 b
Neutrophil differential (%)	11 ± 1	86 ± 2 d	33 ± 11 d	65 ± 4 d	0.0001 b
Lymphocyte differential (%)	88 ± 1	14 ± 2 d	66 ± 10 d	34 ± 6 d	0.0001 b
AST (U/L)	71 ± 2	127 ± 21 e	89 ± 6	109 ± 6 e	0.0069 b
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.5 ± 0.0	0.7 ± 0.1 f	0.6 ± 0.1	0.7 ± 0.1 f	0.0720 b
dP/dt (mmHg/sec)	13438 ± 2235	6687 ± 399 g	N.D.	N.D.	0.0410 g
Stroke work (mmHg x mL)	28 ± 3	13 ± 1 g	N.D.	N.D.	0.0066 g

^aAnesthetized adult male CD rats were intratracheally instilled with saline solution (vehicle) or individually with the three different P. aeruginosa strains at ~2.5 x 10⁷ CFU/mL. At 48-h post-infection, animals were anesthetized and body temperature measured rectally. Blood chemistry analysis was used to assess liver function (aspartate aminotransferase, AST) and kidney function (creatinine). Left ventricular function was assessed by two contractility indexes, namely dP/dt and stroke work.

^bComparisons among groups were made using a one-way ANOVA and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Significant differences among groups were established by Newman-Keuls post-hoc analysis.

^cSignificantly different compared to vehicle and ΔPcrV.

^dSignificantly different among all groups.

^eSignificantly different compared to vehicle.

^fNot significantly different by one-way ANOVA but significantly different when individually compared to vehicle using an unpaired t-test (P < 0.05).

^gSignificantly different compared to vehicle using an unpaired t-test (P < 0.05).

N.D., not determined.