Lung function and blood gas of rats after different protocols of hypobaric exposure

Yin, Lijun1,#; Wen, Yukun2,#; Liang, Zhixin3; Guan, Zhenbiao4; Yu, Xuhua2; Xu, Jiajun2; Wang, Shifeng2,*; Liu, Wenwu2,*

¹Department of Anesthesiology, Women and Children’s Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China²Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, China³Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China⁴Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China

Abstract

High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a common disease observed in climbers, skiers and soldiers who ascend to high altitudes without previous acclimatization. Thus, a reliable and reproducible animal model that can mimic the mechanisms of pathophysiologic response in humans is crucial for successful investigations. Our results showed that exposure to 4500 m for 2 days had little influence on lung function or blood gas, and exposure to 6000 m for 2 or 3 days could change lung function and blood gas, but most parameters returned to nearly normal levels within 48 hours. This study indicates that exposure to 6000 m for 3 days may induce evident lung edema and significantly alter lung function and blood gas, which may mimic HAPE in clinical practice. Thus, this animal model of HAPE may be used in future studies on HAPE.

摘要：高原肺水肿是一种常见的疾病，常见于登山者、滑雪者和士兵，他们会在没有预先适应环境的情况下攀登到高海拔地区。因此，需要能够模拟病理生理反应机制的可靠和可重复的动物模型。为更好地研究高原肺水肿，实验模拟4500 m (57.7 kPa) 2 d, 6000 m (47.2 kPa) 2和3 d构建了大鼠高原肺水肿模型。结果发现，暴露在4500m2d对大鼠的肺功能和血气状况几乎没有影响，而暴露在6000m 2或3d则会改变肺功能和血氧状况，但大多数参数会在48h内恢复正常。这表明，在6000m暴露3d可能会引起明显的肺水肿，并显著改变肺功能和血气状况，因而可能模拟临床中的高原肺水肿。因此，可将6000m暴露3d的大鼠作为高原肺水肿动物模型。