Experimental endocarditis in rabbits. 5. Results of long-term penicillin or streptomycin treatment of streptococcus faecalis endocarditis and the effect of long-term exposure of healthy rabbits to the same drugs.

A previously described model of experimental Streptococcus faecalis endocarditis in rabbits without an indwelling catheter during the infectious processes was used to study the effect of long-term treatment with antibiotics. Groups of animals infected with six different strains were treated for four weeks and the following parameters were determined: survival rate, bacterial concentration in blood and vegetations, signs at autopsy indicating congestive heart failure. Before the therapeutic experiments, the tolerance of the rabbit to long-term exposure of the drugs penicillin and streptomycin was considered in a group of non-infected animals. Two out of 20 rabbits died with enteritis during the penicillin exposure, and a general weight reduction was observed. Streptomycin was apparently completely harmless. There was no therapeutic effect of streptomycin on S. faecalis endocarditis due to strains all designated resistant to streptomycin by MIC, except in rabbits infected with a strain, which showed partial susceptibility to the drug by IC50. Regardless of the therapeutic effect, evidence was obtained for rapid development of increased resistance of the infecting strains towards streptomycin. After long-term treatment with penicillin in either low or high dose some of the animals survived and the valves were sterilized in 37% of the animals after low-dose and in 39% after high-dose. It was observed that congestive heart failure occurred with the greatest frequency and intensity after infection with proteolytic strains.