Experimental pneumococcal and staphylococcal sepsis: effects of hydrocortisone and phenoxybenzamine upon mortality rates.

Abstract

resistance, and terminal hypotension (16). These findings suggest that the effects of adrenal corticosteroid or adrenergic blocking agents upon the outcome of these infections might not be the same. Accordingly, studies were undertaken to investigate the effects of these forms of adjunctive therapy upon the mortality rates of experimental staphylococcal and pneumococcal infections in rabbits. They show that in pneumococcal infection hydrocortisone administered with penicillin prevents death not prevented by penicillin alone, whereas phenoxybenzamine is ineffective in preventing death. In staphylococcal infection, phenoxybenzamine plus methicillin prevents death not prevented by methicillin alone, whereas hydrocortisone is ineffective.