Figure 1

Survival after caecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves of mice after CLP-induced sepsis (t = 0). (a) Pre-emptive administration of clonidine improves survival after CLP-induced sepsis. The verum group (solid line, n = 30) received clonidine (5 μg/kg) 12 hours and 1 hour before CLP, as well as 1 hour, 6 hours and 12 hours after CLP. The control group received corresponding injections with solvent (dashed line, n = 30). Clonidine-treated animals survived significantly longer than their controls (p = 0.015, n = 60). (b) Pre-emptive administration of dexmedetomidine statistically prolongs survival after CLP-induced sepsis. The verum group (solid line, n = 40) received dexmedetomidine (40 μg/kg) 12 hours and 1 hour before CLP, as well as 1 hour, 6 hours and 12 hours after CLP. The control group received corresponding injections with solvent (dashed line, n = 40). Dexmedetomidine-treated animals survived significantly longer than their controls (p = 0.029, n = 80). (c) Post-operative administration of clonidine does not improve survival after CLP-induced sepsis. The verum group (solid line, n = 30) received clonidine (5 μg/kg) 1 hour, 6 hours and 12 hours after CLP. The control group received corresponding injections with solvent (dashed line, n = 30). There was no statistically significant difference between both groups (p = 0.228, n = 60). * indicates statistical significant differences between the groups.