Endotoxic shock in the primate: effects of aspirin and dipyridamole administration

A primate model was utilized to study the cardiovascular and coagulation effects of endotoxic shock. The therapeutic effectiveness of drugs such as aspirin and dipyridamole, which diminish platelet aggregation and adherence, were evaluated. From the data, it appears that the kidney is a target organ in endotoxic shock, at least when a bolus injection of endotoxin is administered. The precipitate falls in the renal artery flow (p less than 0.01) and platelet count (p less than 0.01), which occur 3 minutes after the intravenous injection of endotoxin, can be prevented in part by pretreatment with aspirin (40 mg/kg of body weight). The changes in the coagulation profile were of less magnitude, and the fibrin degradation products appeared late in the group pretreated with aspirin as compared to the other groups. The combination of dipyridamole and aspirin was not as effective as aspirin alone in achieving the apparently protective effect. The study suggests that the administration of aspirin to patients with gram-negative infections may be beneficial.