Intraperitoneal splenic implants do not alter clearance of pneumococcal bacteremia

The effect of intraperitoneal splenic autotransplants was studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. Twenty animals underwent total splenectomy. Splenectomy was performed in another group of 20 rats, after which the spleen was diced into 15 pieces and replaced within the leaves of the small bowel mesentery. Twelve weeks later pneumococcal bacteremia was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 5 X 10(6) Streptococcus pneumoniae. Quantitative blood cultures were obtained from the tail vein 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 240 minutes after injection. Mean bacterial counts with time for animals bearing splenic autotransplants were not significantly different from completely asplenic rats. At autopsy, all animals receiving splenic implants were found to have viable splenic tissue among the leaves of the small bowel mesentery. This study shows that even allowing 12 weeks for maximal regeneration, splenic autotransplants fail to significantly alter the clearance of an established bacteremia.