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Departments of
*Clinical Physiology,
Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, and
Clinical Physiology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden; and Departments of
*Anesthesiology and
§Pathology, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Lennart Magnusson, MD, PhD, Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital, CHUV BH-10, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Address e-mail to Lennart.Magnusson{at}chuv.hospvd.ch
| Abstract |
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Implications: This study demonstrates in an animal model that inflating the lung once or repeatedly to the vital capacity is a safe procedure. This maneuver, also called the vital capacity maneuver, can be used to relieve lung collapse which occurs in all patients during general anesthesia.
| Introduction |
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| Methods |
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As we have previously shown (2), the pressure necessary (40 cm H2O) to obtain a maximal inflation of the lungs with a closed chest is the same as that required with an open chest at the end of CPB. Therefore, the VCM consisted of inflating the lungs to 40 cm H2O pressure, which was held for 15 s. The same technique was applied to the three groups in which VCM was applied.
After anesthetic induction and muscle relaxation, tracheal intubation was performed and artificial ventilation was started. The tidal volume was 10 mL/kg and the frequency adjusted to maintain an end-tidal CO2 tension between 5.2 and 5.6 kPa (3942 mm Hg) with a positive end-expiratory pressure of 4 cm H2O. The ventilator settings were kept constant throughout the procedure. The FIO2 was 0.4 balance nitrogen. For further details, see Magnusson et al (2,6). A catheter was inserted in the carotid artery for pressure measurements and blood sampling. A fiberoptic catheter (Pulsiocath 4F FT PV 2024; Pulsion Medical Systems, München, Germany) was inserted in the same artery and advanced into the aorta for lung water measurements. A Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheter was introduced in the external jugular vein and advanced to the pulmonary artery for cardiac output measurements.
Perfusion was conducted by using a nonpulsatile pump (Gambro®, PMO 10220; Lund, Sweden) after 400 IU/kg heparin sodium was administered. Ventilation was stopped during CPB, the respirator disconnected, and the airway opened to atmosphere. The aorta was clamped and cardioplegic solution (St. Thomas Type I) with 0.27 mg/L procaine was injected until cardiac arrest. Hypothermia to 30°C was induced with a thermal exchanger (Chiller Thermo Circulator®; Churchill Instruments, Perivale, England) coupled to the oxygenator. During CPB, chest drains were inserted in both pleura, and after chest closure, a negative suction was applied.
The total duration of the cardiac ischemia was 45 min. Rewarming was initiated with the thermal exchanger and continued for 40 min. The pigs were separated from the CPB. The total duration of CPB was 90 min. At 15 min before termination of CPB, ventilation was reinstituted at one-half the tidal volume. Just before termination of the bypass, the VCM was performed for the two VCM groups. Normal tidal volumes were given. The heparin effect was reversed with 1 mg protamine for each 100 IU used. For further details, see Magnusson et al (2,6).
The pigs of the five groups had a basal infusion of 150 mL/hour of NaCl 0.9%. In the three bypass groups, extensive evaporation from the surgical field was estimated to 1015 mL · kg-1 · h-1. Two hours with an opened sternum and the great vessels, the heart, and the lungs in contact with the atmosphere may have caused a fluid loss of approximately 900 mL. This fluid loss was approximately compensated for by the cardioplegic solution and the priming volume returned to the pig at the end of the CPB. To avoid any differences among the groups in the fluid balance, which could influence gas exchange and lung water measurements, the fluid loss was followed by repeated measurements of hematocrit (Hct). In case of decreasing Hct, perfusion of crystalloid was reduced.
Measurements consisted of arterial blood gases, heart rate, systemic arterial pressures, cardiac output measured by thermodilution, extravascular lung water (EVLW) and intrathoracic blood volume (measured with the double-indicator dilution method) and total respiratory system static compliance (over the tidal volume and including and end-inspiratory pause of two seconds) as previously described (2,6). Lung integrity was evaluated with measurement of the alveolocapillary membrane permeability and morphology examination. Further details are given below.
For lung clearance, a solution of technetium-99m-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (99mTc-DTPA) was prepared from a commercial kit (DRN 4362 Technescan® DTPA; Mallinckrodt Medical, Petten, Holland) by using 10 mL of 99mTc-sodium pertechnetate labeled at 30 MBq. 99mTc-DTPA was delivered by an ultrasonic nebulizer placed in the inspiratory circuit (ultra-neb 99TM, DeVilbiss, Somerset, UK). This nebulizer enables preferential alveolar deposition of particles with a mass median diameter of 3.1 ± 1.6 µm (7). Nebulization was performed for 5 min until a total count of 1,000 counts per second was obtained. Radioactivity was measured over the entire chest in the anterior view by using a gamma camera with a low-energy, general purpose collimator for 25 min. The time-activity curve from both lungs was obtained. Correction was made for physical decay and background activity. Residual radioactivity from previous measurements remaining in the alveoli and pulmonary lymphatics was measured before each successive nebulization as background activity and eliminated. The half-life of the tracer in the lungs (T1/2) was calculated.
Three animals of each group were used for histological examination of the lungs. The animals were heparinized and the left pulmonary artery was cannulated and ligated proximal to the cannula. The left atrium was cannulated with a large venous bypass cannula. The animals were then killed with an IV injection of KCl. The lungs were inflated to an airway pressure of 20 cm H2O which was maintained during the subsequent perfusion procedure. Lactated Ringers solution was first infused into the left pulmonary artery at a pressure of 20 cm H2O until the perfusate was clear. Next, 4% formalin was infused during 20 min at the same pressure. The left lung was then removed and immersed in 4% formalin for 1 mo. After this procedure, the lungs were stiff and remained expanded when the distending pressure was removed. Three samples were taken at different regions from the left lung parenchyma (cranial part of the upper lobe, caudal part of the upper lobe, and the lower lobe). Paraffin sections from these samples, stained with hematoxylin-eosin, were examined by light microscopy with particular reference to the alveolar expansion pattern, hemorrhage, edema, and inflammatory cells. The examination was made by a pathologist blinded to the treatment group from which the tissue sample came.
A delay of 30 min was allowed after the surgical preparation before baseline measurements were made. After CPB all of the pigs were kept anesthetized with the same technique for 6 h. Because of the time necessary to remove the CPB cannulas and close the chest, the first postbypass measurements were not taken until 45 min after separation from CPB. The same measurements were then repeated at 3 and 6 h post-CPB. For the two groups not subjected to CPB, measurements were made at 1, 3, and 6 h after baseline. In the groups subjected to repeated VCM, measurements were performed 15 min after a VCM to avoid having a VCM performed during the 25 min measurement of radioactivity.
All data were collected and analyzed in a statistical program (StatView; Abacus Concepts, Berkeley, CA) and are presented in the text, table, and figures as mean ± SD. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences among the groups in the hemodynamic, lung fluid, 99mTc-DTPA, etc. When significant, pairwise comparisons were made to locate specific intergroup differences. As a post hoc test, the Bonferroni/Dunn was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Effect of CPB and different exposure to VCM were evaluated comparing changes within each group over time. P < 0.05 was considered significant.
| Results |
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At the end of the CPB, end-inspiratory airway pressure (Peiaw) had increased and respiratory compliance decreased in the three CPB groups. Compliance, on the contrary, progressively increased and Peiaw decreased in the 6 VCM group. These variables were unchanged in the control group (Table 1).
T1/2 was unchanged during the 6 h of general anesthesia in the control group, as well as in the CPB + 0 group (Fig. 1 and 2). Directly after the CPB, T1/2 had significantly decreased in the two CPB groups treated with a VCM. However, T1/2 increased rapidly toward baseline in the CPB + 1 VCM group during the following hours while it remained lowered in the CPB + 6 VCM group (Fig. 2). Finally after three hours of anesthesia and repeated VCM, T1/2 decreased significantly in the 6 VCM group and remained lowered thereafter (Fig. 1).
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| Discussion |
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Pulmonary clearance of 99mTc-DTPA (expressed as the half-life of the tracer) is an indicator of the functional integrity of the alveolocapillary barrier. The clearance rate is changed by various factors. Interstitial lung disease increases T1/2 of 99mTc-DTPA (8), as well as high-permeability edema conditions, such as neonatal respiratory distress syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome (9). Decreased alveolar surfactant content or function decreases T1/2 (10) and experimentally increased alveolar surfactant content increases T1/2 (11), indicating a role for the surfactant system in limiting the alveolocapillary transfer of solutes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that T1/2 decreases when lung volume is increased (12,13).
In our pig model, the two groups exposed to a VCM at the end of the CPB showed a decreased T1/2. Various mechanisms can explain this decrease. High permeability edema caused by overstretching of the alveoli or by shear force, as described in one-lung ventilation (14,15) can occur after CPB. However, the absence of increase of the EVLW, the absence of perturbation of the gas exchange, and in-lung morphology make this hypothesis unlikely. A decrease in the amount of surfactant occurs after CPB (16) and this may be a possible cause of the decrease of T1/2 seen directly after CPB. However, repeated VCM stimulates surfactant production in fetal and newborn animals (17,18) and it is likely that the effect of repeated VCM is similar in our pig model. This should prolong the T1/2, not shorten it. An increase in lung volume produced by various mechanisms has been demonstrated to decrease T1/2 (12). The persistence of decreased T1/2 in the CPB + 6 VCM group, as well as the later decrease in the 6 VCM group, may therefore be explained by a progressive increase in the lung volume produced by repeated VCM. This is consistent with our observation of increased pulmonary compliance and improved gas exchange seen in the two groups exposed to repeated VCM (13).
On the other hand, there was no change in the lung clearance after CPB itself, as seen in the CPB + 0 group. In this group, large atelectasis is certainly present at the end of CPB as previously shown (2,6) and functional residual capacity is most likely reduced, as has been shown after cardiac surgery (19). Whether such decrease in lung volume increases T1/2, as does an overall lung volume reduction (12,13), is not clear. The decrease in the surface area caused by atelectasis and the reduced amount of surfactant caused by CPB act on T1/2 of 99mTc-DTPA in an opposite way. These interacting mechanisms may explain the absence of changes in the T1/2 in our pig model. In humans, conflicting results of the effect of CPB on the permeability of the alveolocapillary membrane have been found. One study has shown an increase in the alveolocapillary permeability (20). However, in contrast to our study, continuous positive airway pressure was applied during CPB. Other studies have shown no increase in the permeability (21) or only after prolonged CPB (>120 min) (22).
No lung damage, in particular no alveolar rupture, could be seen in any groups. No differences were observed among the groups.
Alveolar inflation shows considerable difference between the various regions at which the three specimens have been taken. The more cranial the specimens, the more expanded were the alveoli. This confirms our previous finding that atelectasis, measured with computed tomography scan, predominates at the level of the diaphragm (2,6).
Only a few studies have evaluated lung morphology after CPB. The oldest studies have all shown perivascular and interstitial tissue edema with some bleeding in the alveolus or in the perivascular connective tissue (23,24). More recently (25), perivascular and interstitial edema was sometimes seen associated with intraalveolar edema and extravasated corpuscular blood elements. In our study, these histological changes (edema or bleeding) were not seen, whether or not the animals were exposed to CPB or VCM. Our results, compared with those reported in previous studies, probably illustrate the improvement in equipment and management during CPB over the years.
No previous studies have investigated the safety of VCM. In this study, no negative effect was found when one VCM was applied during general anesthesia. This is also true when a VCM is applied at the end of 90 minutes of CPB, despite the probable increased fragility of the lung tissue caused by a period of lung ischemia. An increase in lung clearance of 99mTc-DTPA was seen after repeated VCM, which is best explained by an increase in lung volumes. Therefore, repeated VCM in this pig model is also safe. Nevertheless, repeated VCM in humans should be carefully analyzed with regard to possible beneficial, as well as, negative effects before any application of the technique in the clinical routine.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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| References |
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