Halothane decreases bacterial adherence in vitro.

Abstract

Adherence of pathogenic bacteria to host epithelial cells is thought to be the initial step in infection, while the presence of the commensal flora is an important host defence mechanism. Anything altering bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells may contribute to bacterial infections. The impact of anaesthesia on this first step to infection is not known. In this study the effect of halothane on bacterial adherence was investigated. Human epithelial cells (HEp-2) and two strains of Escherichia coli were exposed to halothane 2% for 2 h. Then HEp-2 cells were coincubated with bacteria for 3 h. Bacteria attached to the epithelial cells were evaluated by light microscopy. Compared to the control, bacterial adherence was reduced by 37% to 56% with the different strains when HEp-2 cells were exposed to halothane. No significant difference was found when only bacteria were treated with halothane. Our results show that halothane reduces bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells in vitro. Reduced number or function of epithelial cell surface receptors may be responsible for the reduced adherence as no changes were observed when only the bacteria were exposed to halothane.