LOW-POTASSIUM UW SOLUTION FOR LUNG PRESERVATION

Abstract

University of Wisconsin solution has been used successfully in clinical kidney and liver preservation. The object of this study was to determine if low-potassium UW (LPUW) solution could be applied to pulmonary preservation. Rabbit lungs were stored after hypothermic pulmonary artery (PA) flush with four different solutions (group 1: low-potassium dextran (LPD) solution, group 2: high-potassium UW (HPUW) solution, group 3: LPUW solution, group 4: modified Euro-Collins (E-C) solution). The lungs were preserved at 10 degrees C for 30 hr and evaluated in an ex vivo ventilation/perfusion apparatus using fresh pooled venous rabbit blood. Mean PA flush pressures (MFP) during harvesting were significantly lower in groups 1 and 3 (8.1 +/- 1.0 mmHg and 7.3 +/- 0.6 mmHg, respectively; mean +/- SEM) than in groups 2 and 4 (15.5 +/- 1.7 mmHg and 12.3 +/- 0.9 mmHg, respectively). Lungs in groups 1 and 3 showed significantly higher PaO2 (103.5 +/- 8.0 mmHg and 89.3 +/- 7.2 mmHg) than groups 2 and 4 (48.3 +/- 7.7 mmHg, 66.7 +/- 4.7 mmHg). Groups 1 and 3 showed significantly lower wet/dry weight (W/D) ratios after reperfusion (6.21 +/- 0.15 and 6.39 +/- 0.23) than groups 2 and 4 (7.70 +/- 0.57 and 7.13 +/- 0.21, respectively). There were no significant differences in MFP, PaO2, PaCO2, mean pulmonary artery pressure, or W/D ratio between groups 1 and 3. These results suggest that LPUW solution may be as beneficial as LPD solution for pulmonary arterial flush and lung preservation.