Electrolyte Shifts and Electrocardiographic Changes During Tourniquet Shock in Rats

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Abstract
Tourniquet-shocked rats accumulated intra- and extra-cellular Na and water, and lost K, in the traumatized muscles upon removal of tourniquets. Cardiac muscle and intact skeletal muscle were depleted of intracellular Na and gained intracellular K, while serum Na concentration was only transiently lowered, and serum Ca and K concentration rose. Despite these changes in the distribution of cations, no striking ecg. changes were noted unless exogenous K was administered. The possible significance of intracellular Na depletion in the pathogenesis of shock was emphasized.