title: Correlation between increased airway responsiveness and severity of pulmonary edema.
abstract: To determine whether the severity of the pulmonary edema in sheep models of cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema correlate with concomitant alterations in airway responsiveness using three separate measures of pulmonary edema: post-mortem wet-to-dry lung weight ratio (W/D), chest radiograph (CXR) scores, and small airway wall area. Cardiogenic pulmonary edema was induced by increasing left atrial pressure (increase PLA) and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema was induced by intravenous administration of Perilla ketone (PK). There was a significant negative correlation between changes in airway responsiveness and changes in CXR grade (r=-0.749, P<0.05), W/D (r=-0.662, P<0.05), airway wall areas (r=0.784, P<0.05) after increases in both PLA and PK. Chest radiograph score, W/D, and airway wall area correlated with each other (CXR score and W/D r=0.657, P<0.05; CXR score and airway wall area r=0.678, P<0.05; airway wall area and W/D r=0.704, P<0.05). We speculate that the increased airway responsiveness observed during pulmonary edema may result from the mechanical effects of edema formation within the airways.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Lung Research, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232-2650, USA.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lefferts
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Snapper
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology; D001344:Autopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D001699:Biometry; D001980:Bronchi / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012756:Sheep