Fatal outcome of splenectomy in rats with experimental biliary infection

The effect of splenectomy in normal rats receiving retrograde intrabiliary (RI) or intravenous (IV) injection of 10(5) Escherichia coli was studied. IV injection of the bacteria did not cause any deaths, independent of whether simultaneous ligation of the common bile duct was performed or not. In contrast, RI injection immediately after splenectomy resulted in the death of 9/12 animals although only 1/12 RI-injected rats with intact spleens died (p less than 0.005). The findings might have implications for the performance of splenectomy in patients with combined hepato-biliary diseases.