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Cardiac sympathetic nerve stimulation enhances cardiovascular performance during hyperkalaemia in the anaesthetized pig.
A rapid increase in arterial plasma potassium concentration to values seen during intense exercise depresses cardiac function at rest. Increasing the cardiac concentration of noradrenaline by right-sided sympathetic stimulation in eleven anaesthetized pigs significantly augmented cardiovascular performance during hyperkalaemia, while electrical pacing of the right atrium at equivalent rates to sympathetic stimulation afforded no protection against the deleterious effects of hyperkalaemia. We conclude that the inotropic effect of sympathetic activation may be important in sustaining cardiac function during exercise-induced hyperkalaemia.
Intense slow hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in gas-filled and liquid-filled lungs: an in vivo study in the rabbit.
To examine the hypothesis that hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction may have a slower time course and greater intensity than is currently recognized, experiments were conducted in twelve anaesthetized rabbits subjected to unilateral lung hypoxia for 6 h. Endobronchial cannulation was used to maintain apnoea of one lung at constant airway pressure whilst inflating the lung with nitrogen or liquid. The second lung was ventilated with oxygen to maintain normocapnia and oxygen transfer. A pulmonary ventilated with oxygen to maintain normocapnia and oxygen transfer. A pulmonary artery catheter was introduced non-invasively. Pulmonary shunt was derived from mixed venous and arterial blood gas parameters. Pulmonary artery pressure was monitored continuously and cardiac output was estimated from oxygen uptake measurements before and after 6 h unilateral hypoxia. The experiments show that a rapid phase of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is followed by a slow phase which develops over hours. The slow phase is associated with a massive blood flow diversion from the hypoxic lung, such that pulmonary shunt after 6 h unilateral hypoxia is indistinguishable from baseline shunt during bilateral ventilation with oxygen. The response is reversible, but with a similarly slow time course. Results from nitrogen and liquid filling of the lung are similar. These findings are consistent with early experiments by Dirken and Heemstra in 1948 (Quart F Exp Physiol 34, 193-211), and challenge the prevailing notion that hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is always a rapid and relatively weak physiological response to hypoxia.
Minimum fresh gas flow requirements of anaesthetic breathing systems during spontaneous ventilation: a graphical approach.
A general solution is presented to the problem of finding the minimum fresh gas flow requirements, during spontaneous ventilation, of anaesthetic breathing systems in the Mapleson classification. The solution is applicable to any pattern of breathing, dead space volume and tidal volume. The method is graphical and its use and understanding require no mathematical skills. However, if an analytical form of the respiratory waveform is known, the method is easily extended by use of calculus to obtain a precise analytical solution.
Active transport in the alveolar epithelium of the adult lung: vestigial or vital?
Active secretion by mammalian fetal pulmonary alveolar epithelium is well recognized, as is the role of the adult epithelium in the secretion of surfactant. Recent studies have demonstrated active absorption by adult epithelium involving two sodium-dependent pathways. This finding has focused attention on how poorly we understand both the disposition of alveolar liquid and the physiological role of surfactant. In this paper we review the evidence that the adult mammalian alveolar epithelium absorbs solutes by active transport, and we assess the physiological importance of the resulting liquid movements.
Femoral arteriovenous extracorporeal carbon dioxide elimination using low blood flow.
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Conventional extracorporeal CO2 removal systems require blood flow rates of 1 to 2.5 L/min in the extracorporeal circuit. We hypothesized that standard hemofiltration equipment can be combined with a high-performance extracorporeal lung to achieve high rates of CO2 removal at lower blood flow rates. To test this hypothesis, we performed experiments on nine sheep to examine the extent to which CO2 elimination can be achieved at blood flow rates less than 600 mL/min using a 5-m2 hollow fiber membrane lung with countercurrent gas flow, combined with a hemofiltration blood pump, and connected to femoral arterial and venous hemodialysis catheters. RESULTS: CO2 eliminations of 130 to 180 mL/min at standard temperature and pressure were achieved with blood flow rates in the range 470 to 600 mL/min. With a pumpless artery-to-vein shunt, up to 90 mL/min of CO2 at standard temperature and pressure was eliminated. However, in this mode, the resistance of the access catheters and tubing was the main factor limiting CO2 elimination. CONCLUSIONS: Standard hemofiltration equipment may be combined with a hollow fiber membrane lung to remove the equivalent of a high proportion of the basal metabolic CO2 production of an adult human at low blood flow rates. Use of this technology would bring extracorporeal CO2 removal within the budget and capability of more ICUs.
Rebreathing during spontaneous and controlled ventilation with T-piece breathing systems: a general solution.
A general solution is presented to the problem of finding the degree of rebreathing generated by T-piece breathing systems. The solution is applicable to any ventilatory waveform, dead space volume and tidal volume and is identical for spontaneous and controlled ventilation for any given ventilatory waveform. The method is graphical and its use and understanding require no mathematical skills. However, if an analytical form of the ventilatory waveform is known, the method is easily extended by use of calculus to obtain a precise analytical solution.
Oxygen and CO2 transfer of a polypropylene dimpled membrane lung with variable secondary flows.
Gas transfer performance is presented for one form of the Oxford membrane lung in which vortex mixing is induced in blood flow across a dimpled polypropylene membrane. Dimensional analysis has been used to define the parameters characterizing mass transfer in the device, and of three fluid mechanical parameters: Reynolds number based on peak pulsation velocity, Strouhal number, and ratio of mean to oscillatory flows, only the first has been found to affect mass transfer significantly in the ranges studied. For oxygenation, rated flows in excess of 5 l min-1 m-2 are measured. A new definition is presented for a rated flow for extracorporeal CO2 removal and values in excess of 1.2 l min-1 m-2 are obtained.
Anticoagulation by ancrod for carbon dioxide removal by extracorporeal membrane lung in the dog.
Ten dogs were subjected to defibrinogenation with an intravenous perfusion of ancrod (1 unit/kg) (Arvin, Knoll AG, Ludwigshafen, Federal Republic of Germany) over a 2 1/2 hour period. Six of them were subjected to extracorporeal elimination of carbon dioxide with a polypropylene membrane lung by means of veno-venous bypass. The remaining four dogs did not undergo extracorporeal circulation and served as control subjects. In both groups, ancrod administration itself resulted in a marked drop in alpha 2-antiplasmin (33% and 67%, respectively, of the baseline values) and in slight but significant decreases in factor II and plasminogen activities of 25% and 20%, respectively (p less than 0.05), in the group subjected to carbon dioxide removal. There were no significant changes in platelet number or factor V and antithrombin III activities. During the 6-hour bypass period, platelet count and antithrombin III and factor II and V levels decreased significantly. No bleeding was observed. Histologic examination of lung biopsy tissue showed no pathologic features. Analysis of the membrane of the artificial lungs revealed no fibrin deposits. In the control group, except for a drop in alpha 2-antiplasmin levels (54%), no significant changes in hemostatic parameters occurred during the corresponding 6 hours. We conclude that, despite the drop in coagulation factors and in alpha 2-antiplasmin activity during bypass, ancrod can be considered as a valuable alternative anticoagulant for extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal.