The comparative clinical efficacy of intravenous insulin regular, dexamethasone and flunixin meglumine on ovine experimental endotoxemia

The lack of an effective treatment for endotoxemia causes high mortality rates in affected animals. Forty clinically healthy 1-year old Iranian fat-tailed ewes were assigned randomly into 8 experimental equal (n = 5) groups, comprising Insln 1.5, Insln 3, Insln 6, Insln 9, Insln 20, Dexa, Flnx and Control. Lipopolysaccharide from E. coli serotype O55:B5 was used to induce endotoxemia in ewes at 20 µg/kg as bolus intravenous administration. All forty ewes were evaluated clinically before and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 24 h after LPS injection. Clinical parameters monitored during experiments included rectal temperature, heart and respiratory rates, mucous membrane color, capillary refill time, appetite and fecal consistency. Insulin regular, flunixine meglumine and dexamethasone were used at 180 min after LPS injection along with the fluid over 60 min. Insulin regular was infused at 1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 20 IU/kg in Insln 1.5, Insln 3, Insln 6, Insln 9 and Insln 20 groups, respectively. Flunixin meglumine and dexamethasone were used at 2.2 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg intravenously in Flnx and Dexa groups, respectively. In Insln 3 group, at 5th and 6th hours, the heart rate was significantly lower than other experimental groups. Respiratory rate of all studied animals at 5th and 6th hours in Insln 3, Flnx and Dexa were statistically similar together and lower than other groups, significantly. In conclusion, the anti endotoxic effects of insulin regular at 3 IU/kg were statistically similar to dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) and flunixin meglumine (2.2 mg/kg).