Septicemia during pregnancy: a study in different species of experimental animals

When Escherichia coli B6 lipopolysaccharide, 0.2 mg/kg of body weight, was infused into nonpregnant minipigs during a 5-hour period, the animals died after 12 to 16 hours as a result of endotoxic shock. When the same infusion was given to six pregnant minipigs at term, these animals died after only 3 1/2 hours. The decrease in the number of white blood cells, the number of platelets, hematocrit, and clotting factors was not significantly different between the two groups. The acid-base status, however, indicated a much more pronounced metabolic acidosis in the pregnant animals than in the nonpregnant controls. In the pregnant minipigs heart rate, cardiac output, mean arterial pressure, and total peripheral resistance indicated cardiovascular collapse, and the multiple wire, platinum surface electrode revealed a drastic reduction in uterine tissue oxygenation in the pregnant animals. The data support the hypothesis that pregnant animals at term are more susceptible to the harmful effects of lipopolysaccharide. Early death in the pregnant minipigs, however, was not associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation as it is in smaller animals (rat, rabbit, and hamster).