Effect of intraarterial, intraportal or combined norepinephrine infusion on hemorrhage at experimental liver trauma in the rat.

The effect of intraarterial, intraportal or simultaneous intraarterial and intraportal norepinephrine (NE) infusion on hemorrhage after standardized liver trauma was evaluated in the rat. Infusion of NE through a catheter in the gastroduodenal artery or/and vein, was started 5 min prior to the liver trauma and continued throughout the experiment. Blood pressure was continuously registered after cannulation of the femoral artery. Standardized liver trauma involved resection of the left anterior liver lobe. Bleeding time, blood loss from the traumatized liver surface, hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), platelet count (PC) and white blood cell count (WBC) were measured. Infusion of NE resulted in significant increase of blood pressure compared with controls. Infusion of NE (i.a., i.p., i.a. + i.p.) caused significant decrease in bleeding time and blood loss. Hb, Hct, PC and WBC were not affected. NE infusion proved effective in decreasing hemorrhage at liver trauma; the route of administration did not influence the results.