Search

Three groups of conscious canines were given different intravenous doses of human recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF) over 1 h, and the resulting cardiovascular abnormalities were examined for 10 days. As TNF dose increased [0 (controls), 30, 60, and 120 micrograms/kg body wt], the number of deaths increased (P less than 0.025; 0 of 6, 1 of 8, 4 of 8, number of deaths in each group, respectively). In all three groups receiving TNF, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at 2 h after infusion decreased (P less than 0.003) compared with controls. The group receiving the highest dose of TNF (120 micrograms/kg body wt) had the greatest decrease (P less than 0.05) in LVEF from 0 to 2 h. At 8 h, all three groups receiving TNF had similar LVEF. In these three groups, other multiple measures of LV function at 8 h showed significant and similar decreases in cardiac contractility compared with controls. From 24 to 240 h, however, the time required for cardiac performance (LVEF) to return to normal was dose dependent (30 less than 60 less than 120 micrograms/kg body wt; P less than 0.05). Canines receiving the lowest dose of TNF had near normal cardiac function (LVEF) at 24 h, whereas canines receiving the highest dose had persistent cardiac abnormalities at 240 h. Thus, at 8 h, the severity of cardiac dysfunction is independent of TNF dose, but the rate of onset and the duration of cardiac abnormality are markedly dependent of dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The hemodynamic response to inhalation anesthesia is influenced by three factors: 1) the specific drug, 2) the dose, and 3) individual characteristics of the subject. To investigate the importance of these factors on the cardiovascular response, we administered five doses [0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC)] of enflurane, halothane, and isoflurane to each of six dogs. Twelve hemodynamic variables were measured. For all variables, a change in the dose of each drug produced a consistent effect in each dog. Increases in dose resulted in significant decreases in seven variables [left ventricular ejection fraction, cardiac index (CI), stroke volume index (SVI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP), left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI), and heart rate (HR)] and a significant increase in one variable [central venous pressure (CVP)]. In contrast, the response of individual dogs to different drugs was not consistent. For seven variables [MAP, MPAP, LVSWI, CVP, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), end-diastolic volume index (EDVI), and end-systolic volume index (ESVI)], a significant difference in the responses of a dog to two drugs was greater than zero, whereas a significant difference in the response of at least one other dog to the same two drugs was less than zero (discordant dog-drug interactions). Thus, in contrast to the consistency of the cardiovascular response to changes in dose, the hemodynamic response to different drugs was inconsistent among dogs. We also studied the effect of fluid challenge on hemodynamic response at 1.5 or 2.0 MAC of the three drugs given to each dog.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Survivors of both human and animal bacterial shock develop a characteristic pattern of progressive changes in cardiovascular function over a period of 7-10 d. In this present study, we examined whether endotoxin (a product of Gram-negative bacteria) or TNF (a cytokine released from macrophages) could reproduce the same complex cardiovascular changes observed in septic shock over a period of 7-10 d. To test this hypothesis, we implanted a thrombin-fibrin clot containing purified endotoxin from E. coli into the peritoneal cavity of eight dogs, and infused TNF into eight different dogs. Over the next 10 d, serial simultaneous heart scans and thermodilution cardiac outputs were performed in these awake nonsedated animals. By day 2 after challenge with either endotoxin or TNF, animals developed a decrease (p less than 0.05) in both mean arterial pressure and left ventricular ejection fraction. With fluid resuscitation, animals manifested left ventricular dilatation (increased [p less than 0.05] end diastolic volume index), increased or normal cardiac index, and decreased or normal systemic vascular resistance index. In surviving animals, these changes returned to normal with 7-10 d. The time course of these changes was concordant (p less than 0.05) with that previously described in a canine model of septic shock using viable bacteria. During the 10-d study, control animals receiving sterile clots or heat-inactivated TNF had not significant changes in hemodynamics. The results from this canine model demonstrate that either endotoxin or TNF alone can produce many of the same hemodynamic abnormalities seen in human septic shock and in a canine septic shock model induced by live bacteria. These findings support the hypothesis that the action of endogenous mediators (TNF) responding to bacterial products (endotoxin) is the common pathway that produces the serial cardiovascular changes found in septic shock.