Effects of Partial Liquid Ventilation on Unilateral Lung Injury in Dogs

Abstract

The overall physiologic effect of partial liquid ventilation (PLV) in the setting of unilateral lung injury remains unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of PLV on gas exchange in unilateral lung injury. Left unilateral lung injury was induced in 14 adult dogs by oleic acid instillation into a left pulmonary artery. The animals were divided into two groups: gas ventilation (GV) and PLV. During both GV and PLV, systemic blood gas levels were analyzed. Oxygen consumption (O(2)), carbon dioxide production (CO(2)) and pulmonary blood flow (Q) of both the right lung (uninjured lung) and left lung (injured lung) were measured. During PLV, O(2) of the injured left lung (o(2)-injured), CO(2) of the injured left lung (CO(2)-injured), and Q of the injured left lung (Q-injured) were greater than those in GV (O(2)-injured, 41.6 mL/min vs 23.4 mL/min, p = 0.006; CO(2)-injured, 34.4 mL/min vs 25.5 mL/min, p = 0.026; and Q-injured, 0.47 L/min vs 0.22 L/min, p = 0.002, respectively). However, overall PaO(2) during PLV was less than that during GV, likely due to either a redistribution of Q toward the injured lung (PLV Q-injured, 0.47 L/min vs GV Q-injured, 0.22 L/min; p = 0.002) or reduced gas exchange efficiency in the healthy lung. We conclude that in our model, PLV increases O(2) and VCO(2) in the injured lung. However, over all gas exchange efficiency is reduced.