Refractory cardiogenic shock (CS) often requires veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) to sustain end-organ perfusion. Current animal models result in heterogenous cardiac ...injury and frequent episodes of refractory ventricular fibrillation. Thus, we aimed to develop an innovative, clinically relevant, and titratable model of severe cardiopulmonary failure. Six sheep (60 ± 6 kg) were anaesthetized and mechanically ventilated. VA-ECMO was commenced and CS was induced through intramyocardial injections of ethanol. Then, hypoxemic/hypercapnic pulmonary failure was achieved, through substantial decrease in ventilatory support. Echocardiography was used to compute left ventricular fractional area change (LVFAC) and cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) was quantified. After 5 h, the animals were euthanised and the heart was retrieved for histological evaluations. Ethanol (58 ± 23 mL) successfully induced CS in all animals. cTnI levels increased near 5000-fold. CS was confirmed by a drop in systolic blood pressure to 67 ± 14 mmHg, while lactate increased to 4.7 ± 0.9 mmol/L and LVFAC decreased to 16 ± 7%. Myocardial samples corroborated extensive cellular necrosis and inflammatory infiltrates. In conclusion, we present an innovative ovine model of severe cardiopulmonary failure in animals on VA-ECMO. This model could be essential to further characterize CS and develop future treatments.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Transpulmonary pressure can be estimated using esophageal balloon (EB) catheters, which come in a variety of manufacturing configurations. We assessed the performance of novel polyurethane EB ...designs, Aspisafe NG and NG+, against existing alternatives. We created a biomechanical model of the chest cavity using a plastic chamber and an ex-vivo porcine esophagus. The chamber was pressurized (- 20 and + 20 cmH
O) to simulate pleural pressures. We conducted tests with various EB inflation volumes and measured transesophageal pressure (TEP). TEP measurement was defined as accurate when the difference between pressure within the EB and chamber was 0 ± 1 cmH
O. We computed the minimal (V
) and maximal (V
) EB inflation volumes of accuracy. Inflation volumes were further validated using a surrogate method derived by the clinically validated positive pressure occlusion test (PPOT). When the esophageal balloons were filled with inflation volumes within the range provided by the manufacturers, the accuracy of TEP measurements was marginal. Our tests found median V
across EB of 0.00-0.50 mL (p = 0.130), whereas V
ranged 0.50-2.25 mL (p = 0.002). Post PPOT validation, median TEP was - 0.4 cmH
O (- 1.5 to 0.3) (p < 0.001 among catheters). The Aspisafe NG and NG+ were accurate in 81.7% and 77.8% of the measurements, respectively. We characterized two new EBs, which demonstrated good benchtop accuracy in TEP measurements. However, accuracy was notably influenced by the precise selection of EB inflation volumes.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Whilst the presence of 2 subphenotypes among the heterogenous Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) population is becoming clinically accepted, subphenotype-specific treatment efficacy has yet ...to be prospectively tested. We investigated anti-inflammatory treatment in different ARDS models in sheep, previously shown similarities to human ARDS subphenotypes, in a preclinical, randomized, blinded study. Thirty anesthetized sheep were studied up to 48 h and randomized into: (a) OA: oleic acid (n = 15) and (b) OA-LPS: oleic acid and subsequent lipopolysaccharide (n = 15) to achieve a PaO
/FiO
ratio of < 150 mmHg. Then, animals were randomly allocated to receive treatment with methylprednisolone or erythromycin or none. Assessed outcomes were oxygenation, pulmonary mechanics, hemodynamics and survival. All animals reached ARDS. Treatment with methylprednisolone, but not erythromycin, provided the highest therapeutic benefit in Ph2 animals, leading to a significant increase in PaO
/FiO
ratio by reducing pulmonary edema, dead space ventilation and shunt fraction. Animals treated with methylprednisolone displayed a higher survival up to 48 h than all others. In animals treated with erythromycin, there was no treatment benefit regarding assessed physiological parameters and survival in both phenotypes. Treatment with methylprednisolone improves oxygenation and survival, more so in ovine phenotype 2 which resembles the human hyperinflammatory subphenotype.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Mortality and morbidity of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) are largely unaltered. A possible new approach to treatment of ARDS is offered by the discovery of inflammatory subphenotypes. In ...an ovine model of ARDS phenotypes, matching key features of the human subphenotypes, we provide an imaging characterization using computer tomography (CT). Nine animals were randomized into (a) OA (oleic acid, hypoinflammatory; n = 5) and (b) OA-LPS (oleic acid and lipopolysaccharides, hyperinflammatory; n = 4). 48 h after ARDS induction and anti-inflammatory treatment, CT scans were performed at high (H) and then low (L) airway pressure. After CT, the animals were euthanized and lung tissue was collected. OA-LPS showed a higher air fraction and OA a higher tissue fraction, resulting in more normally aerated lungs in OA-LPS in contrast to more non-aerated lung in OA. The change in lung and air volume between H and L was more accentuated in OA-LPS, indicating a higher recruitment potential. Strain was higher in OA, indicating a higher level of lung damage, while the amount of lung edema and histological lung injury were largely comparable. Anti-inflammatory treatment might be beneficial in terms of overall ventilated lung portion and recruitment potential, especially in the OA-LPS group.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Differential hypoxaemia (DH) is common in patients supported by femoral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) and can cause cerebral hypoxaemia. To date, no models have studied ...the direct impact of flow on cerebral damage. We investigated the impact of V-A ECMO flow on brain injury in an ovine model of DH. After inducing severe cardiorespiratory failure and providing ECMO support, we randomised six sheep into two groups: low flow (LF) in which ECMO was set at 2.5 L min
ensuring that the brain was entirely perfused by the native heart and lungs, and high flow (HF) in which ECMO was set at 4.5 L min
ensuring that the brain was at least partially perfused by ECMO. We used invasive (oxygenation tension-PbTO
, and cerebral microdialysis) and non-invasive (near infrared spectroscopy-NIRS) neuromonitoring, and euthanised animals after five hours for histological analysis. Cerebral oxygenation was significantly improved in the HF group as shown by higher PbTO
levels (+ 215% vs - 58%, p = 0.043) and NIRS (67 ± 5% vs 49 ± 4%, p = 0.003). The HF group showed significantly less severe brain injury than the LF group in terms of neuronal shrinkage, congestion and perivascular oedema (p < 0.0001). Cerebral microdialysis values in the LF group all reached the pathological thresholds, even though no statistical difference was found between the two groups. Differential hypoxaemia can lead to cerebral damage after only a few hours and mandates a thorough neuromonitoring of patients. An increase in ECMO flow was an effective strategy to reduce such damages.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
Fluid resuscitation is the standard treatment to restore circulating blood volume and pressure after massive haemorrhage and shock. Packed red blood cells (PRBC) are transfused to restore ...haemoglobin levels. Restoration of microcirculatory flow and tissue oxygen delivery is critical for organ and patient survival, but these parameters are infrequently measured. Patient Blood Management is a multidisciplinary approach to manage and conserve a patient’s own blood, directing treatment options based on broad clinical assessment beyond haemoglobin alone, for which tissue perfusion and oxygenation could be useful. Our aim was to assess utility of non-invasive tissue-specific measures to compare PRBC transfusion with novel crystalloid treatments for haemorrhagic shock.
Methods
A model of severe haemorrhagic shock was developed in an intensive care setting, with controlled haemorrhage in sheep according to pressure (mean arterial pressure 30–40 mmHg) and oxygen debt (lactate > 4 mM) targets. We compared PRBC transfusion to fluid resuscitation with either PlasmaLyte or a novel crystalloid. Efficacy was assessed according to recovery of haemodynamic parameters and non-invasive measures of sublingual microcirculatory flow, regional tissue oxygen saturation, repayment of oxygen debt (arterial lactate), and a panel of inflammatory and organ function markers. Invasive measurements of tissue perfusion, oxygen tension and lactate levels were performed in brain, kidney, liver, and skeletal muscle. Outcomes were assessed during 4 h treatment and post-mortem, and analysed by one- and two-way ANOVA.
Results
Each treatment restored haemodynamic and tissue oxygen delivery parameters equivalently (
p
> 0.05), despite haemodilution after crystalloid infusion to haemoglobin concentrations below 70 g/L (
p
< 0.001). Recovery of vital organ-specific perfusion and oxygen tension commenced shortly before non-invasive measures improved. Lactate declined in all tissues and correlated with arterial lactate levels (
p
< 0.0001). The novel crystalloid supported rapid peripheral vasodilation (
p
= 0.014) and tended to achieve tissue oxygen delivery targets earlier. PRBC supported earlier renal oxygen delivery (
p
= 0.012) but delayed peripheral perfusion (
p
= 0.034).
Conclusions
Crystalloids supported vital organ oxygen delivery after massive haemorrhage, despite haemodilution to < 70 g/L, confirming that restrictive transfusion thresholds are appropriate to support oxygen delivery. Non-invasive tissue perfusion and oximetry technologies merit further clinical appraisal to guide treatment for massive haemorrhage in the context of Patient Blood Management.
In vitro hemolysis testing is commonly used to determine hemocompatibility of ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). However, poor reproducibility remains a challenging problem, due to several ...unidentified influencing factors. The present study investigated potential factors, such as flow rates, the use of anticoagulants, and gender of blood donors, which could play a role in hemolysis. Fresh human whole blood was anticoagulated with either citrate (n = 6) or heparin (n = 12; 6 female and 6 male blood donors). Blood was then circulated for 360 min at 4 L/min or 1.5 L/min. Regardless of flow rate conditions, hemolysis remained unchanged over time in citrated blood, but significantly increased after 240 min circulation in heparinized blood (
≤ 0.01). The ratio of the normalized index of hemolysis (
) of heparinized blood to citrated blood was 11.7-fold higher at 4 L/min and 16.5-fold higher at 1.5 L/min. The difference in hemolysis between 1.5 L/min and 4 L/min concurred with findings of previous literature. In addition, the ratio of
of male heparinized blood to female was 1.7-fold higher at 4 L/min and 2.2-fold higher at 1.5 L/min. Our preliminary results suggested that the choice of anticoagulant and blood donor gender could be critical factors in hemolysis studies, and should be taken into account to improve testing reliability during ECMO.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Despite decades of comprehensive research, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) remains a disease with high mortality and morbidity worldwide. The discovery of inflammatory subphenotypes in ...human ARDS provides a new approach to study the disease. In two different ovine ARDS lung injury models, one induced by additional endotoxin infusion (phenotype 2), mimicking some key features as described in the human hyperinflammatory group, we aim to describe protein expression among the two different ovine models. Nine animals on mechanical ventilation were included in this study and were randomized into (a) phenotype 1, n = 5 (Ph1) and (b) phenotype 2, n = 4 (Ph2). Plasma was collected at baseline, 2, 6, 12, and 24 h. After protein extraction, data-independent SWATH-MS was applied to inspect protein abundance at baseline, 2, 6, 12, and 24 h. Cluster analysis revealed protein patterns emerging over the study observation time, more pronounced by the factor of time than different injury models of ARDS. A protein signature consisting of 33 proteins differentiated among Ph1/2 with high diagnostic accuracy. Applying network analysis, proteins involved in the inflammatory and defense response, complement and coagulation cascade, oxygen binding, and regulation of lipid metabolism were activated over time. Five proteins, namely LUM, CA2, KNG1, AGT, and IGJ, were more expressed in Ph2.
Background
Left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI) and afterload‐related cardiac performance (ACP) consider left ventricular (LV) afterload and could be better prognosticators in septic ...cardiomyopathy. However, their invasive nature prevents their routine clinical applications. This study aimed to investigate (1) whether a proposed speckle‐tracking echocardiography parameter, Pressure‐Strain Product (PSP), can non‐invasively predict catheter‐based LVSWI, ACP and serum lactate in an ovine model of septic cardiomyopathy; and (2) whether PSP can distinguish the sub‐phenotypes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with or without sepsis‐like conditions.
Methods
Sixteen sheep with ARDS were randomly assigned to either (1) sepsis‐like (n = 8) or (2) non‐sepsis‐like (n = 8) group. Each ARDS and sepsis‐like condition was induced by intravenous infusion of oleic acid and lipopolysaccharide, respectively. Pulmonary artery catheter‐based LVSWI (the product of stroke work index, mean arterial pressure and .0136), ACP (the percentage of cardiac output measured to cardiac output predicted as normal) and serum lactate were measured simultaneously with transthoracic echocardiography. Two PSP indices were calculated by multiplying the mean arterial blood pressure and either global circumferential strain (PSPcirc) or radial strain (PSPrad).
Results
PSPcirc showed a significant correlation with LVSWI (r2 = .66, p < .001) and ACP (r2 = .82, p < .001) in the sepsis‐like group. Although PSP could not distinguish subphenotypes, PSPcirc predicted LVSWI (AUC .86) and ACP (AUC .88), and PSPrad predicted serum lactate (AUC .75) better than LV ejection fraction, global circumferential and radial strain.
Conclusions
A novel PSP has the potential to non‐invasively predict catheter‐based LVSWI and ACP, and was associated with serum lactate in septic cardiomyopathy.
The accurate diagnosis of septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) under the vasoplegic condition is challenging. We propose a novel speckle‐tracking echocardiography parameter, Pressure‐Strain Product (PSP), which considers left ventricular afterload, and may predict better prognostic values, catheter‐based left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI) and afterload‐related cardiac performance (ACP) in a non‐invasive manner. In this study using a large animal model of SCM, PSP showed a better prediction of catheter‐based LVSWI and ACP as well as serum lactate, when compared to conventional echocardiographic parameters.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK