Attenuation of ischemic brain edema by pentobarbital after carotid ligation in the gerbil.

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Abstract
The efficacy of pentobarbital in the treatment of ischemic cerebral edema was evaluated in 160 gerbils. Animals underwent carotid ligation under ether or pentobarbital (50 mg/kg) anesthesia. The pentobarbital anesthetized group received an additional dose of 30 mg/kg 4 h after ligation. Animals were evaluated for neurologic deficit at 4 and 8 h post-ligation, then sacrificed. Water content of each hemisphere and swelling percentage were calculated from the wet and dry weights of the hemispheres. Swelling percentage in animals anesthetized with ether was 6.374 +/- 0.89 SE, whereas gerbils who underwent sham carotid ligation showed a negligible (0.491 +/- 0.15) swelling percentage (p less than 0.01). Pentobarbital animals had a swelling percentage of 3.359 +/- 0.68. This represents a significant edema reduction compared to ether-anesthetized animals (p less than 0.01). Neurologic deficit was decreased by 56.7% (17/60 vs 30/60) in pentobarbital animals compared with ether animals (p less than 0.025). Mortality at 8 hours was reduced by 75% (2/60 vs 8/60) in pentobarbital animals (p less than 0.05).