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Updated: Sep 27, 2026
Use of Animal Model of Sepsis to Evaluate Novel Herbal Therapies
Published on: April 11, 2012
Thyroid hormone supplementation in sepsis: an experimental study
Murat Inan1, Ayhan Koyuncu, Cengiz Aydin
1Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey.
Purpose:
The levels of thyroid hormones decrease in septic, critically ill, and major trauma patients who show a bad prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of thyroid hormone supplementation on the sepsis criteria and mortality in an experimental sepsis model.
Methods:
Forty-eight Wistar-Albino rats were divided into four experimental groups. A cecum ligation and puncture was used as a sepsis model. Group I: sham; group II: a cecum ligation and puncture (control); group III: a cecum ligation and puncture +T3 (0.4 microg/100 g body weight/day) intraperitoneally; group IV: a cecum ligation and puncture +T4 (1 500 ng/100 g body weight/day) intramuscularly. The PCO(2), leukocyte count, peritoneal bacterial content, neutropenia, and mortality rates were assessed in all groups.
Results:
The PCO(2) levels decreased only in the control group ( P < 0.05). The leukocyte counts were lower in the therapy groups ( P < 0.05). The rate of neutropenia was seen much more in the control group ( P < 0.05). The peritoneal bacteria content decreased in the therapy groups ( P < 0.05). The mortality rate significantly decreased in the thyroid hormone-treated animals ( P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Thyroid hormone supplementation in septic rats had a beneficial effect on the sepsis criteria and also resulted in a lower rate of mortality.