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Magnetic resonance imaging and pathologic studies on lateral fluid percussion injury as a model of focal brain injury in rats.

In this study, morphologic changes in brain lesions initiated by moderate lateral fluid percussion injury in rats were investigated chronologically using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathologic methods. Rats were subjected to moderate fluid percussion injury (average 2.80 +/- 0.48 atmospheres) over the exposed dura overlying the right parietal cortex. MRI obtained in vivo were compared with corresponding pathologic findings at 1, 6, and 24 h and at 3, 6, 14 and 80 days after injury. T2-weighted images showed scattered low-signal intensity in the injured cortex within a few hours after injury, whereas histologic findings revealed intraparenchymal hemorrhages. T2-weighted images of the ipsilateral cerebral cortex and/or corpus callosum showed a high-signal-intensity area 4 h after injury. The high-signal-intensity area became largest in size between 6 and 24 h, then declined gradually, and almost disappeared 14 days after injury. Histologic examination revealed pyknosis, retraction of the cell body of neurons with vacuolated neuropil in the corresponding regions 6 and 24 h after injury, and cystic necrosis 14 days after injury. The location and extent of these pathologic changes were depicted accurately by MRI in vivo. In the hippocampus, pyknosis and retraction of the cell body of pyramidal neurons were observed on the injured side 24 h after injury, and the number of neurons in the CA1 and CA2-CA3 regions decreased significantly on the same side by 14 days after injury. It is concluded that morphologic changes in the brain following experimental traumatic brain injury in rats are detectable in vivo by high-resolution MRI, and that MRI may be useful for the evaluation of treatment effects in experimental brain injury.

Animals↗

Transient versus prolonged hyperlocomotion following lateral fluid percussion injury in mongolian gerbils.

Posttraumatic hyperactivity is a neurobehavioral symptom commonly seen in patients after traumatic brain injury (TBI). No useful animal model has yet been established for evaluation of this important symptom. We induced either mild (MILD, 0.7-0.9 atm) or moderate (MOD, 1.3-1.6 atm) lateral fluid percussion injury (LFPI) in Mongolian gerbils. Open-field and T-maze tests were used during a 7-day period after the trauma. All animals were perfusion fixed for histopathological examinations. Transient locomotor hyperactivity was found with a peak at 6 hr after injury in the MILD animals, whereas MOD animals showed prolonged and severe hyperlocomotion throughout the 7-day posttrauma period (P < 0.0001). Interestingly, the temporal profile of the posttraumatic hyperactivity was similar to that of the working memory deficit in both injury groups. Histological examination revealed significant neural tissue damages, including cortical necrosis, white matter rarefaction, and neuronal loss in the hippocampus in the ipsilateral hemisphere of the MOD animals, vs. only negligible changes in the MILD animals. Correlation analysis revealed that the volume of white matter lesions was significantly correlated with both posttraumatic hyperactivity (r = 0.591, P < 0.01) and working memory deficit (r = -0.859, P < 0.0001). Taken together, our findings confirm the successful reproduction of posttraumatic hyperactivity following experimental TBI. The posttraumatic hyperlocomotion probably shared pathomechanisms common to those of cognitive dysfunction caused by LFPI, supporting the speculation from previous studies that some neurobehavioral abnormities intimately correlate with TBI-induced cognitive dysfunction. Histopathologically, significant involvement of white matter damage in the posttraumatic functional deficits was indicated.

Analysis of Variance↗

Intracranial pressure changes during fluid percussion, controlled cortical impact and weight drop injury in rats.

BACKGROUND: In traumatic brain injury research, the fluid percussion injury (FPI) model in the rat is widely used. The injury is graded based on indirect criteria, such as the extracranial pressure wave and/or physiological responses to the injury. We designed this study to investigate if the extracranially monitored pressure in the FPI-device corresponded to the actual intracranial situation. Severe controlled cortical impact (CCI) and severe weight drop injury (WDI) were studied for comparison. METHOD: We tested the correlation between the extra- and intracranial pressures during severe FPI in rat (2.6-2.9 atm), using pressure probes (diameter 0.34 mm) with high frequency (500 Hz) and high pressure range (1-5 atm). The probes were inserted into either of the lateral ventricles in FPI and in the contralateral lateral ventricle in CCI and WDI to compare the ictal pressure pulses between the models. FINDINGS: FPI showed a time lag between the extracranial, intracranial ipsilateral and intracranial contralateral pressure curves respectively, reflecting the different distances between the pressure source and the individual pressure probes. There was a high degree of correlation (r = 0.994, p<0.0001) between the extra- and intracranial pressure pulses, once corrected for the time lag. We found no significant differences between the extracranial and the intracranial peak pressure in either ventricle in FPI. In CCI and WDI the contralateral pressure pulses were significantly smaller than in FPI. CCI resulted in higher pressure peaks than WDI, due to higher impact velocity. CONCLUSIONS: The extracranial pressure pulse appears to be a good estimate of the intraventricular pressure pulse generated during FPI. Severe CCI and WDI generated intraventricular pressure pulses of much lower magnitude than FPI, explaining the lesser degree of brain stem involvement in the former models.

Animals↗

Secondary hypoxia exacerbates acute disruptions of energy metabolism in rats resulting from fluid percussion injury.

The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether secondary hypoxia exacerbates the metabolic consequences of fluid percussion injury (FPI). In Experiment I, rats were trained to press a lever for their entire daily ration of food at any time during a 12-h light/dark cycle and run in an activity wheel. After food intake and body weight stabilized, rats were surgically prepared, assigned to one of four groups [FPI+Hypoxia (IH), FPI+Normoxia (IN), Sham Injury+Hypoxia (SH), Sham Injury+Normoxia (SN)] and, after recovery from surgery, anesthetized with halothane delivered by a 21% O2 source. Immediately after injury or sham injury, the O2 source was switched to 13% for rats in Groups IH and SH for 30 min. Post-traumatic hypoxemia exacerbated the ensuing FPI-induced reductions of food intake and body weight, but did not change FPI-induced reduction in wheel running. In Experiment II, rats were assigned to one of three groups (SH, IN, or IH) and subjected to sham injury and 13% O2 or FPI and either 13 or 21% O2. Immediately after 30 min of hypoxia or normoxia, rats were confined to metabolism cages that were used to quantify rates of oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and heat production (H). Post-traumatic hypoxia exacerbated the FPI-induced increases in VO2, VCO2, and H. The results of Experiments I and II provide convergent confirmation that secondary hypoxemia exacerbates the FPI-induced hypermetabolic state in rats and therefore might significantly exacerbate the brain injury-induced disruptions of energy metabolism in humans.

Analysis of Variance↗

Acute cognitive impairment after lateral fluid percussion brain injury recovers by 1 month: evaluation by conditioned fear response.

Conditioned fear associates a contextual environment and cue stimulus to a foot shock in a single training trial, where fear expressed to the trained context or cue indicates cognitive performance. Lesion, aspiration or inactivation of the hippocampus and amygdala impair conditioned fear to the trained context and cue, respectively. Moreover, only bilateral experimental manipulations, in contrast to unilateral, abolish cognitive performance. In a model of unilateral brain injury, we sought to test whether a single lateral fluid percussion brain injury impairs cognitive performance in conditioned fear. Brain-injured mice were evaluated for anterograde cognitive deficits, with the hypothesis that acute injury-induced impairments improve over time. Male C57BL/6J mice were brain-injured, trained at 5 or 27 days post-injury, and tested 48h later for recall of the association between the conditioned stimuli (trained context or cue) and the unconditioned stimulus (foot shock) by quantifying fear-associated freezing behavior. A significant anterograde hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficit was observed at 7 days in brain-injured compared to sham. Cued fear conditioning could not detect amygdala-dependent cognitive deficits after injury and stereological estimation of amygdala neuron number corroborated this finding. The absence of injury-related freezing in a novel context substantiated injury-induced hippocampal-dependent cognitive dysfunction, rather than generalized fear. Variations in the training and testing paradigms demonstrated a cognitive deficit in consolidation, rather than acquisition or recall. By 1-month post-injury, cognitive function recovered in brain-injured mice. Hence, the acute injury-induced cognitive impairment may persist while transient pathophysiological sequelae are underway, and improve as global dysfunction subsides.

Animals↗

In vivo 1H MR spectroscopic findings in traumatic contusion of ICR mouse brain induced by fluid percussion injury.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the proton metabolic differences of the right parietal cortex with experimental brain contusions of ICR mouse induced by fluid percussion injury (FPI) compared to normal controls and to test the possibility that 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) findings could provide neuropathologic criteria in the diagnosis and monitoring of traumatic brain contusions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A homogeneous group of 20 ICR male mice was used for MRI and in vivo 1H MRS. Using image-guided, water-suppressed in vivo 1H MRS with a 4.7 T MRI/MRS system, we evaluated the MRS measurement of the relative proton metabolite ratio between experimental brain contusion of ICR mouse and healthy control subjects. RESULTS: After trauma, NAA/Cr ratio, as a neuronal marker decreased significantly versus controls, indicating neuronal loss. The ratio of NAA/Cr in traumatic brain contusions was 0.90+/-0.11, while that in normal control subjects was 1.13+/-0.12 (P=0.001). The Cho/Cr ratio had a tendency to rise in experimental brain contusions (P=0.02). The Cho/Cr ratio was 0.91+/-0.17, while that of the normal control subjects was 0.76+/-0.15. However, no significant difference of Glx/Cr was established between the experimental traumatic brain injury models and the normal controls. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The present 1H MRS study shows significant proton metabolic changes of parietal cortex with experimental brain contusions of ICR mouse induced by FPI compared to normal controls. In vivo 1H MRS may be a useful modality for the clinical evaluation of traumatic contusions and could aid in better understanding the neuropathologic process of traumatic contusions induced by FPI.

Animals↗

Long-term comparative trial of conventional postural drainage and percussion versus positive expiratory pressure physiotherapy in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE: We report the results of a long-term comparative trial of physiotherapy by the positive expiratory pressure (PEP) technique with a PEP mask (Astra Meditec) versus conventional postural drainage and percussion (PD&P). Forty patients, ages 6 to 17 years, with Shwachman scores between 52 and 93, attending the cystic fibrosis clinic were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group A (control) continued to perform physiotherapy by using PD&P for a 1-year period, whereas patients assigned to group B performed physiotherapy with the PEP technique for the same period. Compliance with physiotherapy was closely monitored for both groups throughout the study. Clinical status and pulmonary function (forced vital capacity [FVC], FEV1, and FEF25-75) were measured at 3-month intervals. Group B (PEP) demonstrated improved pulmonary function in all parameters as measured by change in percent predicted value for age, gender, and height. The changes in pulmonary function over the study period were: FVC, +6.57; FEV1, +5.98; and FEF25-75, +3.32. This improvement was significantly different from that of group A (PD&P) whose pulmonary function declined in all parameters (FVC, -2.17; FEV1, -2.28; FEF25-75, -0.24). The differences between treatment groups were statistically significant for the changes in FVC (p = 0.02) and FEV(1) (p = 0.04). Our results indicate that for our patients with cystic fibrosis, pulmonary physiotherapy with the PEP technique was superior to conventional physiotherapy with the PD&P technique.

Adolescent↗

Clinical use of the patellar-pubic percussion sign in hip trauma.

To assess the reliability and validity of osteophony (patellar-pubic percussion [PPP] test) as a physical diagnostic sign in the evaluation of hip trauma, a prospective study was undertaken of 41 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department with a history of hip trauma necessitating radiographic examination. Fifteen of 19 (78.9%) patients who presented with a history of hip trauma and a fracture on radiograph were found to have had an abnormal PPP sign by at least one of two raters (P < .0001). Only 1 of 22 (4.6%) patients without evidence of fracture (eg, contusion) had an abnormal PPP sign. This patient had diffuse Paget's disease. Nine of 10 (90%) patients who had trochanteric fractures had an abnormal PPP sign (P < .02). Overall reliability of the PPP sign based on two observers was 90.2% (P < .0001). In those patients with radiographic evidence of fracture, interrater reliability was 84.2% (P < .0001). For patients in whom physicians agreed on the PPP sign, the PPP test resulted in a 0% false-positive error and a 25% false-negative error. For patients in whom either physician noted an abnormal PPP sign, the PPP test resulted in a 4.6% false-positive error and a 21.1% false-negative error. The presence of an abnormal PPP sign in the evaluation of hip trauma is associated with evidence of fracture or other bony abnormality on radiograph.

Emergency Service, Hospital↗

Diagnosis of hip fracture by the auscultatory percussion technique.

Traumatic hip pain is a commonly encountered complaint in the emergency department. Occasionally, initial radiographs fail to show a fracture. A delayed diagnosis can result in significant patient morbidity. Diagnostic algorithms have been formulated to evaluate the patient with hip pain and negative initial radiographs. The auscultatory percussion technique can alert the physician of the presence or absence of an occult hip fracture. Consequently, the physician may order a more sophisticated imaging technique.

Accidental Falls↗

Subtle alterations in NMDA-stimulated cyclic GMP levels following lateral fluid percussion brain injury.

This study examined whether NMDA-stimulated cyclic GMP levels were altered at two different time points following lateral fluid percussion injury. At 60 min and 15 days postinjury, the left and right hippocampi were dissected and chopped into mini-prisms. Each hippocampus was divided into five equal parts and incubated with either the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX (3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, 500 microM) alone, IBMX and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) OR IBMX, NMDA, and glycine (10 MM). Two concentrations of NMDA were used: 500 or 1,000 microM. Tissues were then assayed for levels of cyclic GMP. Results indicated that there were no changes in basal levels of cyclic GMP at either postinjury time point. At 60 min postinjury, there were no significant main effects for injury or drug concentration. There was a significant injury x side interaction effect with increased levels of NMDA-stimulated cyclic GMP in the hippocampus ipsilateral to the injury impact and decreased cyclic GMP levels in the contralateral hippocampus. There were no significant alterations in NMDA-stimulated cyclic GMP levels at 15 days postinjury. The data from this study indicated that NMDA-stimulated cyclic GMP accumulation is differentially altered in the hippocampus ipsilateral and contralateral to the site of the injury at 1 h after injury, but is normalized by 15 days postinjury. These findings implicate NMDA-mediated intracellular signaling processes in the acute excitotoxic response to injury.

Animals↗

Temporal and spatial profile of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways after lateral fluid percussion injury in the cortex of the rat brain.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) play a crucial role in signal transduction that regulates gene expression through transcriptional factor activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal expression and topographic distribution of the activated MAPK pathways including extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 MAPK following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the cortex of the rat brain. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-400 g) were subjected to lateral fluid percussion injury of moderate severity (3.5-4.0 atm) using the Dragonfly device model (no. HPD-1700). Phosphorylated-MAPK protein levels were quantified using Western blot analysis. Topographic distribution of immunoreactivity for phosphorylated-MAPK was examined using immunohistochemistry. Our findings showed that TBI significantly increased the phosphorylated-ERK (p-ERK) and -JNK (p-JNK) levels, but not the -p38 (p-p38) protein levels in the cortex surrounding the injury site. The immunoreactivity for p-ERK and p-JNK immediately after TBI were localized in neurons. The immunoreactivity for p-JNK was uniformly but only transiently induced and returned to control levels 1 h after TBI. The immunoreactivity for p-ERK was confirmed up until 30 min after TBI in the superficial neuronal layers. Double immunostaining using a glial-specific marker demonstrated that p-ERK was prominent in astrocytes 6 h after TBI. The current results suggest that the ERK and JNK pathways, but not the p38 MAPK pathways are involved in signal transduction in the cortex following TBI.

Animals↗

Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier after fluid percussion brain injury in the rat: Part 2: Effect of hypoxia on permeability to plasma proteins.

Clinical studies have demonstrated that hypoxia after severe brain injury is common and significantly worsens neurologic outcome. We have, therefore, developed a rat model of posttraumatic hypoxic injury in order to identify the pathophysiologic responses after head injury that are worsened by this secondary insult. We examined the effect of hypoxia after brain injury on permeability of the blood-brain barrier to plasma proteins. Animals were divided into two experimental groups: group I (impact alone) and group IH (impact plus hypoxia). Rats were subjected to a lateral fluid percussive brain injury (4.8-5.2 atm). Animals in group IH were exposed to hypoxic conditions (10% O2) for 45 min immediately after injury. In each group, vascular permeability to endogenous immunoglobulins (IgG) and to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was examined at the light microscopic level. IgG was immunolocalized in brain sections at 1-24 h after injury. In other studies, HRP was given i.v. either before impact or 10 min before killing. Permeability to this protein was assessed at 1-72 h after injury. The distribution of extravasated proteins was similar between the experimental groups at 1 h postinjury. Pronounced abnormal permeability to IgG and HRP (given before impact) occurred in discrete regions throughout both the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres. By 6 h after injury, a differential response of the blood-brain barrier was noted between groups I and IH. Widespread leakage of proteins was observed in the injured hemisphere in group IH. This finding was in sharp contrast to group I, in which extravasated proteins remained more localized in the injured hemisphere. The time course for reestablishment of the blood-brain barrier to HRP (given before killing) was determined. The impact site remained permeable to HRP up to at least 72 h postinjury within groups I and IH. In group I, the blood-brain barrier was reestablished in the parasagittal cortex and deep cortical layer by 6 h postinjury. In contrast, the blood-brain barrier in group IH was not restored in similar brain regions until 24 h postinjury. These studies demonstrate that (1) hypoxia after brain injury exacerbates the regional breakdown of the blood-brain barrier to circulating proteins, (2) this influence of hypoxia on permeability is not apparent immediately after injury but rather is expressed at 6 h after injury, and (3) hypoxia after traumatic brain injury delays recovery of the blood-brain barrier. These findings suggest that secondary posttraumatic hypoxia contributes to the vascular pathogenesis of brain injury.

Animals↗

Delayed administration of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) attenuates cognitive dysfunction following parasagittal fluid percussion brain injury in the rat.

The present study evaluates the therapeutic effects of delayed administration of bFGF on cognitive dysfunction and histopathological damage following lateral fluid-percussion (FP) brain injury. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to learn a visuospatial task in a Morris Water Maze (MWM) paradigm and then were anesthetized and subjected to either FP brain injury of moderate severity (2.5-2.8 atm, n = 32) or surgery without brain injury (n = 10). Twenty-four hours postinjury, an infusion cannula connected to a mini-osmotic pump was implanted into the area of maximal cortical injury to continuously infuse either bFGF (2.0 g) or vehicle for 7 days. Treatment with bFGF significantly attenuated posttraumatic memory dysfunction in the MWM at 8 days postinjury when compared to vehicle treatment (p < 0.05). The cortical lesion and significant cell loss in the ipsilateral CA3 region of the hippocampus, produced by FP injury, was not affected by bFGF treatment. However, immunohistochemical evaluation of glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed a trend toward increased astrocytosis in the injured cortex of bFGF-treated animals compared to vehicle-treated animals (p < 0.1). These results indicate that bFGF may be efficacious in attenuating cognitive dysfunction associated with traumatic brain injury.

Analysis of Variance↗

L-arginine and superoxide dismutase prevent or reverse cerebral hypoperfusion after fluid-percussion traumatic brain injury.

To determine whether treatment with L-arginine or superoxide dismutase (SOD) would prove effective in reducing cerebral hypoperfusion after traumatic brain injury (TBI), we measured cerebral blood flow (CBF) using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in rats treated before or after moderate (2.2 atm) fluid-percussion (FP) TBI. Rats were anesthetized with isoflurane and prepared for midline FP TBI and then for LDF by thinning the calvaria using an air-cooled drill. Rats were then randomly assigned to receive sham injury, sham injury plus L-arginine (100 mg/kg, 5 min after sham TBI), TBI plus 0.9% NaCl, TBI plus L-arginine (100 mg/kg, 5 min post-TBI), TBI plus SOD (24,000 U/kg pre-TBI + 1600 units/kg/min for 15 min after TBI), or TBI plus SOD and L-arginine. A second group of rats received TBI plus saline, L-, or D-arginine (100 mg/kg, 5 min after-TBI). After treatment and TBI or sham injury, CBF was measured continuously using LDF for 2 h and CBF was expressed as a percent of the preinjury baseline for 2 h after TBI. Rats treated with saline or D-arginine exhibited significant reductions in CBF that persisted throughout the monitoring period. Rats treated with L-arginine alone or in combination with SOD exhibited no decreases in CBF after TBI. CBF in the SOD-treated group decreased significantly within 15 min after TBI but returned to baseline levels by 45 min after TBI. These studies indicate that L-arginine but not D-arginine administered after TBI prevents posttraumatic hypoperfusion and that pretreatment with SOD will restore CBF after a brief period of hypoperfusion.

Animals↗

Three months of chronic ethanol administration and the behavioral outcome of rats after lateral fluid percussion brain injury.

This study examined the effects of 3 months of chronic ethanol administration (CEAn) on the behavioral outcome in rats after lateral fluid percussion (FP) brain injury. Rats were given either an ethanol liquid diet (ethanol diet groups) or a pair-fed isocaloric sucrose control diet (control diet groups) for 3 months. Then, rats from both diet groups were subjected to either lateral FP brain injury of moderate severity (1.8 atm) or to sham operation. Postinjury behavioral measurements revealed that brain injury caused significant spatial learning disability in both diet groups. There were no significant differences in spatial learning ability in the sham or brain-injured animals between the control and ethanol diets. However, a trend towards cognitive impairment in the sham animals and a trend towards reduced deficits in the brain-injured animals were observed in the ethanol diet group. Histologic analysis of injured animals from both diet groups revealed similar extents of ipsilateral cortical and hippocampal CA3 damage. These results, in general, suggest that 3 months of CEAn does not significantly alter the behavioral and morphologic outcome of experimental brain injury.

Alcohol Drinking↗

Inspection-palpation-percussion-auscultation and an outcome-oriented alternative approach to the musculoskeletal examination.

Thirty-two university-based doctors and sixty-seven medical students used a visual analogue scale (VAS) to estimate the usefulness of the inspection-palpation-percussion-auscultation (IPPA) approach. Doctors considered IPPA less useful in the examination of the musculoskeletal system than in other systems, both in clinical practice (P less than 0.01) and as an aid in teaching (P less than 0.01). Students rated IPPA less useful in the musculoskeletal examination than in other systems as a learning aid (P less than 0.001). Based on these findings, an alternative model for physical examination of the musculoskeletal system was devised, using inspection, palpation and other clinical methods only when required to reach a diagnosis. The model focused on the outcome of the diagnostic process (aetiological, anatomical/pathophysiological and functional diagnoses) rather than on the process itself. Thirteen students taught this method found it a useful learning aid. Those familiar with both methods preferred the outcome-oriented to the IPPA method (P less than 0.001).

Auscultation↗

Effect of tracheal bias flow on gas exchange during high-frequency chest percussion.

High-frequency chest percussion (HFP) with constant fresh gas flow (VBF) at the tracheal carina is a variant of high-frequency ventilation (HFV) previously shown to be effective with extremely low tracheal oscillatory volumes (approximately 0.1 ml/kg). We studied the effects of VBF on gas exchange during HFP. In eight anesthetized and paralyzed dogs we measured arterial and alveolar partial pressures of CO2 (PaCO2) and O2 (PaO2) during total body vibration at a frequency of 30 Hz, amplitude of 0.17 +/- 0.019 cm, and tidal volume of 1.56 +/- 0.58 ml. VBF was incrementally varied from 0.1 to 1.2 l.kg-1.min-1. At low flows (0.1-0.4 l.kg-1.min-1), gas exchange was strongly dependent on flow rate but became essentially flow independent with higher VBF (i.e., hyperbolic pattern). At VBF greater than 0.4 l.kg-1.min-1, hyperventilatory blood gas levels were consistently sustained (i.e., PaCO2 less than 20 Torr, PaO2 greater than 90 Torr). The resistance to CO2 transport of the airways was 1.785 +/- 0.657 l-1.kg.min and was independent of VBF. The alveolar-arterial difference of O2 was also independent of the flow. In four of five additional dogs studied as a control group, where constant flow of O2 was used without oscillations, the pattern of PaCO2 vs. VBF was also hyperbolic but at substantially higher levels of PaCO2. It is concluded that, in the range of VBF used, intraairway gas exchange was limited by the 30-Hz vibration. The fresh gas flow was important only to maintain near atmospheric conditions at the tracheal carina.

Animals↗

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in acute exacerbations of COPD patients with mild respiratory acidosis: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN17802078].

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that the use of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV), a technique designed to improve mucus clearance, could prove effective in avoiding further deterioration in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with mild respiratory acidosis. METHODS: The study was performed in a medical intensive care unit of a university hospital. Thirty-three patients with exacerbations of COPD with a respiratory frequency >or= 25/min, a PaCO2 > 45 Torr and 7.35 <or= pH <or= 7.38 were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either standard treatment (control group) or standard treatment plus IPV (IPV group). The IPV group underwent two daily sessions of 30 minutes performed by a chest physiotherapist through a full face mask. The therapy was considered successful when both worsening of the exacerbation and a decrease in pH to under 7.35, which would have required non-invasive ventilation, were avoided. RESULTS: Thirty minutes of IPV led to a significant decrease in respiratory rate, an increase in PaO2 and a decrease in PaCO2 (p < 0.05). Exacerbation worsened in 6 out of 17 patients in the control group versus 0 out of 16 in the IPV group (p < 0.05). The hospital stay was significantly shorter in the IPV group than in the control group (6.8 +/- 1.0 vs. 7.9 +/- 1.3 days, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IPV is a safe technique and may prevent further deterioration in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD with mild respiratory acidosis.

Acidosis, Respiratory↗