Indomethacin Inhibits the Local Shwartzman Reaction

SummaryIndomethacin inhibited the appearance of the local Shwartzman reaction in rabbits, when given before both the preparatory and the eliciting injections; treated animals at 24 hr had only 8% of the reaction that control animals had. In contrast, when indomethacin was not given until 1 hr before the eliciting injection, the reaction was hindered only slightly; the mean score at 24 hr was 76% of that for controls. Histologic studies have shown that in the presence of indomethacin even more leukocytes appear at the site of endotoxin injection than in control rabbits.These results can be interpreted as indicating that although indomethacin does not prevent leukocytes from gathering at the site of inflammation, it prevents their disruption and release of enzymes when the second (eliciting) injection of endotoxin is given.