Methods for preventing progressive tissue necrosis, reperfusion injury, bacterial translocation and adult respiratory distress syndrome

A method for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation, which comprises administering to a patient at risk of bacterial translocation, a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the formula ##STR2## wherein X is H or halogen;

• R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are independently .dbd.O, --OH, --SH, H, halogen, pharmaceutically acceptable ester, pharmaceutically acceptable thioester, pharmaceutically acceptable ether, pharmaceutically acceptable thioether, pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic esters, pharmaceutically acceptable monosaccharide, disaccharide or oligosaccharide, spirooxirane, spirothirane, --OSO.sub.2 R.sup.5 or --OPOR.sup.5 R.sup.6 ;
• R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 are independently --OH, pharmaceutically acceptable esters or pharmaceutically acceptable ethers;
• and
• pharmaceutically acceptable salts, with the proviso that said compound is not of the formula ##STR3## wherein R.sup.7 is .dbd.O or OH:
• R.sup.8 is H or halogen when R.sup.7 is .dbd.O and R.sup.8 is H when R.sup.7 is OH;
• R.sup.9 is H, fatty acid, C.sub.1-10 alkyl, C.sub.1-10 alkenyl, C.sub.1-10 acetylenic, (Y).sub.n -phenyl-C.sub.1-5 -alkyl, (Y).sub.n -phenyl-C.sub.1-5 -alkenyl or --CO-R.sup.11 ;
• R.sup.10 is H or OH;
• R.sup.11 is H, acid, C.sub.1-10 alkyl, C.sub.1-10 alkenyl, C.sub.1-10 acetylenic, (Y).sub.n -phenyl-C.sub.1-5 -alkyl or (Y).sub.n -phenyl-C.sub.1-5 -alkenyl;
• Y is the same or different, and is halogen, C.sub.1-4 alkyl, C.sub.1-4 alkenyl, C.sub.1-4 alkoxy, carboxy, nitro, sulfate, sulfonyl, C.sub.1-6 carboxylesters or C.sub.1-6 sulfate esters;
• and
• n is 0, 1, 2 or 3.