Pulmonary administration of prostacyclin (PGI2) during partial liquid ventilation in an oleic acid-induced lung injury: inhalation of aerosol or intratracheal instillation?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aerosolized prostacyclin (A-PGI2) and intratracheally instilled prostacyclin (I-PGI2) during partial liquid ventilation (PLV) on gas exchange and pulmonary circulation in rabbits with acute respiratory distress.

Design: Prospective control study.

Setting: A research laboratory at a university medical centre.

Subjects: Sixty-nine Japanese white rabbits.

Intervention: Lung injury was induced by oleic acid and the animals were divided into five groups of ten each: a mechanical gas ventilation (GV) group, an A-PGI2 group, a PLV group, an A-PGI2+PLV group and an I-PGI2+PLV group. PLV, A-PGI2+PLV and I-PGI2+PLV groups received 15 ml/ kg perflubron intratracheally while receiving mechanical GV. A-PGI2 and A-PGI2+PLV groups received aerosolized PGI2 (50 ng/kg/min) in combination with GV or PLV, respectively. The I-PGI2+PLV group was instilled 50 ng/kg/min PGI2 intratracheally in combination with PLV.

Result: After lung injury, all animals developed hypoxia, hypercarbia and pulmonary hypertension. The improvement of partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) in the A-PGI2 and PLV groups was transient, whereas the A-PGI2+PLV and I-PGI2+PLV groups showed consistent improvement throughout the experiment. The PaO2 values of the I-PGI2+PLV group were significantly higher than those of the other groups 120 min after treatment. The mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) significantly decreased after treatment in the A-PGI2, APGI2+PLV and I-PGI2+PLV groups.

Conclusions: The results suggest that both aerosolized and intratracheally instilled PGI2 improve oxygenation and reduce PAP during PLV in oleic acid lung injury.