Xionggui Jiaoai Decoction

Pediatric patients are susceptible to lung injury that does not respond to traditional therapies. Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) has been developed as an alternative ventilatory strategy for treating severe lung injury. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of PLV on lung function in immature piglets.

Acute lung injury was induced in 12 Chinese immature piglets by oleic acid (OA). The animals were randomly assigned to two groups (n=6 each group): (1) conventional mechanical ventilation (MV) group and (2) PLV with FC-77 (10 ml/kg) group. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP), central venous pressure (CVP), left atrial pressure (LAP), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), cardiac output (CO), mean pressure of airway (Paw), dynamic lung compliance (Cydn), and arterial blood gases were measured during the observation period.

No piglet died in either group with severe lung injury. After four hours of ventilation, pH in the MV group gradually decreased to lower than 7.20, while in the PLV group, pH also gradually decreased but remained higher than 7.20 (P<0.05). Partial pressure of oxygen in artery (PaO2) decreased in both groups, but with a significant difference between the PLV group and MV group (P<0.05). Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in artery (PaCO2) increased in both groups, but with a significant difference between the PLV group and MV group (P<0.05). Paw increased in both groups, but was not significantly different (P>0.05). Cydn decreased in both groups, but without a significant difference (P>0.05). At four hours, heart rate (HR) and MAP in both groups decreased. MPAP in both groups increased, and there was a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). CVP was stable in both groups. At four hours, PVR and LAP were increased in both groups. CO was decreased in both groups (P<0.05). SVR was stable during the observation time.

PLV did not improve outcome in changes of lung function.

Systemic administration of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) reportedly attenuates acute lung injury induced by acid aspiration and phorbol myristate acetate. However, the effects of PFCs on ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced lung injury have not been investigated. Typical acute lung injury was induced in rats by 60 min of ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion in isolated and perfused rat lung model. Rat lungs were randomly assigned to receive PBS (control), 1 % FC-77, IR only, or IR with different doses of FC-77 (0.1 %, 0.5 %, or 1 %). Subsequently, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), perfusate, and lung tissues were collected to evaluate the degree of lung injury. IR caused a significant increase in the following parameters: pulmonary arterial pressure, capillary filtration coefficient, lung weight gain, lung weight/body weight ratio, wet/dry lung weight ratio, and protein concentration in BALF. TNF-α and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 concentrations in perfusate samples and MDA concentration and MPO activities in lung tissues were also significantly increased. Histopathology showed increased septal thickness and neutrophil infiltration in the lung tissues. Furthermore, NF-κB activity was significantly increased in the lungs. However, pretreatment with 1 % FC-77 prior to IR significantly attenuated the increases in these parameters. In conclusion, our results suggest that systemic FC-77 administration had a protective effect on IR-induced acute lung injury. These protective mechanisms may have been mediated by the inhibition of NF-κB activation and attenuation of subsequent inflammatory response.