title: Relationship between alveolar saturated phosphatidylcholine pool sizes and compliance of preterm rabbit lungs. The effect of maternal corticosteroid treatment.
abstract: The relationship between alveolar saturated phosphatidylcholine pool size and compliance was evaluated in control and maternal corticosteroid-treated 27-, 28-, and 29-day gestational age preterm ventilated rabbits. Surfactant pool sizes below about 0.7 mumol saturated phosphatidylcholine/kg body weight did not alter compliance in either group. Compliance increased to values comparable to surfactant-treated or term newborn rabbits over a narrow range of saturated phosphatidylcholine pool sizes from about 0.7 to 1.2 mumol/kg for corticosteroid-treated rabbits and from about 0.9 to about 2.3 mumol/kg for control rabbits (p less than 0.01). When these results are compared with those from surfactant-treated rabbits, almost an order of magnitude less endogenous surfactant than exogenous surfactant is needed to alter compliance in preterm ventilated rabbits.
authors.affiliation: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance 90509.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikegami
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Jobe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seidner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D008170:Lung Compliance / Q000187:drug effects*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011817:Rabbits; D012121:Respiration, Artificial
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D001623:Betamethasone