OXYGENATION DURING PERFLUOROCARBON ASSOCIATED GAS-EXCHANGE IN NORMAL AND ABNORMAL LUNGS

Perfluorocarbon-associated gas exchange (PAGE) has been proposed for t he treatment of lung diseases characterized by high alveolar surface t ension. Perflubron (perfluorooctyl bromide, LiquiVent(tm), Alliance Ph armaceutical Corp.) is a high purity medical grade perfluorocarbon sui table for PAGE. We studied PAGE using perflubron in normal piglets and in animal models of pulmonary disease (meconium aspiration syndrome, oleic acid infusion and gastric acid aspiration as models of ARDS, and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome). All animals were studied und er anesthesia. PAGE was instituted by intratracheal instillation of a volume of perflubron (generally 30 ml/kg) that approximates a normal f unctional residual capacity of the lung. Arterial blood gases were mea sured at 15 minute intervals. FiO(2) during PAGE was 1.0. In normal pi glets, PaO2 fell from 543 torr (during conventional gas breathing) to 363 torr (during PAGE). However, in models of lung disease, PAGE signi ficantly enhanced PaO2.