Partial liquid ventilation for acute allograft dysfunction after canine lung transplantation

Background. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of partial liquid ventilation (PLV) on acute allograft dysfunction after lung transpla ntation. Methods. The canine left lung allotransplantation model was used, with the graft preserved in 4 degrees C lowpotassium dextran glucose solution for 18 hours. The control group (n = 6) had conventional mechanical ventilation, and the PLV group (n = 6) had perfluorooctylbromide instilled into the airw ay 30 minutes after reperfusion. For 360 minutes, allograft function and he modynamics were evaluated. After the evaluation, myeloperoxidase activity o f the graft tissue was assayed. Results. All dogs survived for 360 minutes. In the PT,V group, Pao, shunt f raction, and alveolar to arterial gradient for O-2, were si,significantly b etter than those in the control group after 120, 180, and 120 minutes, resp ectively (p < 0.05). After 240 minutes, peak airway pressure became signifi cantly lower than that in the control group (p < 0.05). The Pao, at 360 min utes was 102 +/- 55 mm Hg in the control group and 420 +/- 78 mm Hg in the PLV group (p < 0.0001), and the peak airway pressure was 21.4 +/- 4.1 mm Hg in the control group and 14.7 +/- 5.0 mm Hg in the PLV group (p < 0.05). M yeloperoxidase activity in the PLV group was lower than that in the control group. Conclusions. The study shows that PLV alleviated acute allograft dysfunctio n after lung transplantation. (C) 1999 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.