INHALATION INJURY AND POSITIVE PRESSURE VENTILATION IN A SHEEP MODEL

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 12  (2) , 107-113
Abstract
Mortality rate of inhalation injury was lowered in 6 chronically instrumented sheep through positive pressure ventilation and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Six range ewes were prepared for study by implanting catheters to measure lung lymph flow and cardiopulmonary variables. After surgery, these animals were studied in the unanesthetized state and then subjected to an inhalation by insufflating them with smoke from burning cotton. Following the smoking procedure, the animals were studied for 72 h. All had marked falls in arterial O2 tension and they developed dyspnea within 24 h. Inhalation injury produced a marked change in lung lymph flow concomitant with an elevation in the lymph-to-plasma (L/P) oncotic pressure ratio. This is characteristic of a change in microvascular permeability to protein. A tracheostomy was performed at 72 h and the animals were connected to positive pressure ventilators with PEEP. All 6 animals survived. The sheep lung lymph preparation is a very suitable model for the study of [human] inhalation injury and positive pressure ventilation.

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