Antibiotic Prophylaxis Prevents the Development of a Post-Infectious Phenotype in a New Rat Model of Post-Infectious IBS

• Published in: Digestive diseases and sciences 2011-07, Vol.56 (7), p.1962-1966
• Main Authors: Pimentel, Mark, Morales, Walter, Jee, Sam-Ryong, Low, Kimberly, Hwang, Laura, Pokkunuri, Venkata, Mirocha, Jim, Conklin, Jeffrey, Chang, Christopher
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotic Prophylaxis; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Campylobacter Infections - complications; Campylobacter Infections - drug therapy; Campylobacter jejuni; Campylobacter jejuni - drug effects; Disease Models, Animal; Feces - microbiology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Genetic aspects; Hepatology; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - microbiology; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - prevention & control; Irritable bowel syndrome; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oncology; Original Article; Other diseases. Semiology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prevention; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rifamycins - therapeutic use; Rifaximin; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Transplant Surgery; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0163-2116; 1573-2568
• DOI: 10.1007/s10620-010-1548-z

Background A recent post-infectious rat model with Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 has replicated the events noted in humans with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this study, we test whether prophylactic treatment with the antibiotic rifaximin will prevent the development of long-term altered bowel function in this model. Methods Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into two groups. Both groups were gavaged with a 1 mL solution of 10 8 cfu/mL of C. jejuni . However, one group was also prophylactically gavaged with a solution of rifaximin 200 mg per day for 3 days (the day before gavage, the day of gavage, and the day after gavage with C. jejuni ). Fresh stool was collected from rats daily until two consecutive stool cultures were negative for C. jejuni . The rats were then housed for 3 months. At the end of 3 months, fresh stool was collected on three consecutive days to determine stool % wet weight and stool consistency on a stool score. Results Rats that received rifaximin antibiotic prophylaxis had a greater rate of stool shedding of C. jejuni . However, the mean duration of colonization was shorter in the rifaximin-treated group (10.3 ± 7.1 days) compared to rats receiving no prophylaxis (12.6 ± 5.9 days) ( P