title: Measuring functional residual capacity in normal and oleic acid-injured lungs.
abstract: Functional residual capacity (FRC) is an important oxygen reserve that is often depleted in acute respiratory failure. Recent interest in the mechanisms of liquid ventilation and limited experience in measuring FRC in paralyzed, mechanically ventilated, normal and lung-injured animal models have mandated development of accurate laboratory techniques. Eight sheep, from 17 to 27 kg, were anesthetized and instrumented to provide a tracheostomy, a pulmonary artery catheter, and carotid arterial line. They were randomized to two groups, one of which received 0.07 ml/kg of intravenous oleic acid to induce lung injury. Gas ventilation of both groups was identical except for respiratory rate, which was adjusted to normalize PaCO2. FRC was measured in duplicate by both helium dilution (HD) and body plethysmography (BP). When measurements were completed, the animals were euthanized and their endotracheal tubes clamped at end expiration. The lungs were then removed and their water displacement (WD) FRC values were measured. FRC was the difference between WD and tissue weight assuming 1 ml = 1g. Pearson's correlation coefficient (R(2)) was calculated. During in vitro measurement of test lungs, HD had an R(2) value of 0.99 and BP had an R(2) value of 0.98. When compared to WD, in vivo measurement of FRC by HD had an R(2) value of 0.94 while the value for BP was 0.97. In conclusion, both HD and BP are accurate methods of determining FRC in an uninjured and injured lung model when compared to postmortem WD. Documenting changes in FRC will aid in elucidating the mechanisms of alternative ventilatory techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Gauger
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Overbeck
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hirschl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005652:Functional Residual Capacity / Q000187:drug effects; D006371:Helium; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D019301:Oleic Acid; D009829:Oleic Acids / Q000633:toxicity*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000187:drug effects; D010991:Plethysmography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D011897:Random Allocation; D012756:Sheep; D013990:Tidal Volume / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009829:Oleic Acids; D006371:Helium; D019301:Oleic Acid