title: Cerebral Microcirculation during Experimental Normovolaemic Anemia.
abstract: Anemia is accepted among critically ill patients as an alternative to elective blood transfusion. This practice has been extrapolated to head injury patients with only one study comparing the effects of mild anemia on neurological outcome. There are no studies quantifying microcirculation during anemia. Experimental studies suggest that anemia leads to cerebral hypoxia and increased rates of infarction, but the lack of clinical equipoise, when testing the cerebral effects of transfusion among critically injured patients, supports the need of experimental studies. The aim of this study was to quantify cerebral microcirculation and the potential presence of axonal damage in an experimental model exposed to normovolaemic anemia, with the intention of describing possible limitations within management practices in critically ill patients. Under non-recovered anesthesia, six Merino sheep were instrumented using an intracardiac transeptal catheter to inject coded microspheres into the left atrium to ensure systemic and non-chaotic distribution. Cytometric analyses quantified cerebral microcirculation at specific regions of the brain. Amyloid precursor protein staining was used as an indicator of axonal damage. Animals were exposed to normovolaemic anemia by blood extractions from the indwelling arterial catheter with simultaneous fluid replacement through a venous central catheter. Simultaneous data recording from cerebral tissue oxygenation, intracranial pressure, and cardiac output was monitored. A regression model was used to examine the effects of anemia on microcirculation with a mixed model to control for repeated measures. Homogeneous and normal cerebral microcirculation with no evidence of axonal damage was present in all cerebral regions, with no temporal variability, concluding that acute normovolaemic anemia does not result in short-term effects on cerebral microcirculation in the ovine brain.
authors: Department of Intensive Care, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Herston, QLD , Australia.
authors: Judith
authors: J
authors: Bellapart
authors: Department of Intensive Care, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Herston, QLD , Australia.
authors: Kylie
authors: K
authors: Cuthbertson
authors: Critical Care Research Group, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia; Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors: Kimble
authors: K
authors: Dunster
authors: Critical Care Research Group, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia; Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Diab
authors: Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Cardiology, The Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, QLD, Australia.
authors: David G
authors: DG
authors: Platts
authors: Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Cardiology, The Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, QLD, Australia.
authors: O Christopher
authors: OC
authors: Raffel
authors: Medical Research Centre, Medical School, University of South Australia , Adelaide, SA , Australia.
authors: Levon
authors: L
authors: Gabrielian
authors: Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors: Adrian
authors: A
authors: Barnett
authors: Department of Intensive Care, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Herston, QLD , Australia.
authors: Jenifer
authors: J
authors: Paratz
authors: Department of Intensive Care, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Herston, QLD , Australia.
authors: Rob
authors: R
authors: Boots
authors: Critical Care Research Group, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia; Medical Engineering Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Intensive Care, The Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, QLD, Australia.
authors: John F
authors: JF
authors: Fraser
keywords: APP staining; anemia; histology; microcirculation; microspheres