title: Acute carbon monoxide exposure and cerebral blood flow in rabbits.
abstract: Carbon monoxide (CO) 1% was administered to anaesthetised rabbits for 15 minutes. Despite a 28% +/- 5.8 (SEM) fall in mean arterial blood pressure during the CO exposure, cerebral blood flow increased by 236% +/- 36.5 in the left and 287% +/- 28.9 in the right cortex. Cerebrovascular resistance was reduced by 70.6% +/- 2.8 in the left and by 76.2% +/- 3 in the right cortex. These changes were accompanied by an increase in intracranial pressure, a drop in body temperature and ventilation requirement, and a metabolic acidosis. When the CO was withdrawn all these parameters returned to normal over three hours. Hence, these vascular effects are reversible and consistent with the natural history of CO intoxication in humans. Carboxyhaemoglobin levels correlated well with hemispheric cerebral blood flow (r = 0.90; r = 0.98) and cerebrovascular resistance (r = 0.87; r = 0.97).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer-Witting
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helps
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Gorman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply; D015170:Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010841:Pia Mater / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects; D011817:Rabbits; D013997:Time Factors; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin; D010100:Oxygen