Mortality Factors in Experimental Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis

Summary Factors influencing mortality in experimental hemorrhagic pancreatitis were investigated. A control series showed that hemorrhagic pancreatitis produced by the bile injection technique gave 100 per cent mortality. Antibiotic therapy prevented mortality in such animals. Reduction of pancreatic enzymes by pretreatment of the animals with ethionine did not significantly reduce mortality, but did alter the course of the disease. The pancreas, removed imediately after bile injection and injected intraperitoneally, did not contain materials toxic to a normal animal. An experiment in which a section of the pancreas was placed extraperitoneally and then challenged by the bile injection technique demonstrated the importance of hypovolemic shock in the disease.