A new model for blunt liver injuries in the swine.
BACKGROUND
To elaborate the impact of new haemostatic agents we developed an instrument for the pressure-controlled induction of blunt liver injuries in a porcine animal model.


METHODS
A dilutional coagulopathy of 80% of animal blood volume was induced in 9 anaesthetized pigs. Animals were randomly assigned to be injured with a force of 112 Newton (N) (n = 1), 224 +/- 19 N (n = 4) or 355 +/- 35 N (n = 4). The impact of injury was measured by blood loss, survival time and coagulation parameters. Liver histology was obtained to evaluate the degree of liver injury.


RESULTS
The profound haemodilution resulted in a significant alteration of all coagulation parameters. After inflicting the injury with 355 +/- 35 N, both the survival time (30 +/- 9 min; p = 0.006) and blood loss (68 +/- 16 ml min(-1), p = 0.002) were significantly different as compared to injuries with 224 +/- 19 N (survival time: 76 +/- 20 min, blood loss: 23 +/- 4 ml min(-1)). In contrast, an injury with 112 N led to an insignificant blood loss of only 239 ml.


CONCLUSIONS
We developed a pressure-controlled clamp that allows for the induction of blunt liver traumas with highly reproducible injuries with a positive correlation with blood loss and survival.
Grottke
O
O
Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse 30, Aachen, Germany. ogrottke@ukaachen.de
Braunschweig
T
T
Philippen
B
B
Gatzweiler
K H
KH
Gronloh
N
N
Staat
M
M
Rossaint
R
R
Tolba
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001810:Blood Volume; D002423:Cause of Death; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D010976:Platelet Count; D012771:Shock, Hemorrhagic / Q000401:mortality; D013552:Swine; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*