title: Polyethylene glycol (PEG) attenuates exogenous surfactant in lung-injured adult rabbits.
abstract: Exogenous surfactant administration in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome is currently being evaluated, although resource limitations and the potential expense are existing concerns. Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that substances such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) added to exogenous surfactant improved the function of the surfactant. Based on these data, we hypothesized that PEG would augment surfactant function in an adult rabbit model of lung injury induced by lung lavage and mechanical ventilation, and that this would be accomplished by altering surfactant metabolism. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, mean Pa(O(2)), Pa(CO(2)), and peak inspiratory pressures values 3 h after treatment were significantly worse in the surfactant + PEG treatment groups compared with the surfactant alone groups. These effects were observed for two different doses of surfactant tested. Lavage analyses after sacrifice showed that animals given PEG with their surfactant had significantly lower total and large aggregate surfactant pool sizes compared with animals given surfactant alone. We conclude that in this lung injury model, PEG attenuated surfactant responses, suggesting that further preclinical studies are required before testing this approach in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bosma
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brackenbury
authors.forename: Lynda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McCaig
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Ruud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veldhuizen
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange / Q000187:drug effects; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics / Q000187:drug effects; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols