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Vascular function in the cadaver up to six hours after cardiac arrest
R Bolys1, R Ingemansson, T Sjöberg
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Background:
The aim of the study was to evaluate how well vascular function is retained in a cadaver kept in a room with a temperature of 21 degrees C.
Methods:
The aorta and pulmonary artery of rats were investigated in organ baths as fresh controls and after 1, 2, 3, or 6 hours' storage in the cadaver. Six-hour-old cadaver aortas were transplanted and investigated after 24 hours and 60 days.
Results:
After 3 hours' storage there was no significant decrease in smooth muscle contractile function in either aorta or pulmonary artery. After 6 hours' storage both the aorta and the pulmonary artery demonstrated a significant decrease in smooth muscle contractile function, 30% (p < 0.05) and 44% (p < 0.001), respectively, compared to fresh controls. Storing the aorta for 2 hours and the pulmonary artery for 6 hours caused no significant decrease in endothelium-dependent relaxing function. In aorta segments investigated after 3 and 6 hours there was a significant decrease in endothelium-dependent relaxation, 12% (p < 0.05) and 29% (p < 0.001), respectively. Six-hour-old cadaver aortas transplanted and investigated after 24 hours or 60 days demonstrated no significant changes in endothelium-dependent relaxation and smooth muscle function compared to fresh controls.
Conclusion:
The pulmonary artery can tolerate 3 hours of warm ischemia in the nonheart-beating cadaver without loss of endothelium-dependent relaxation and smooth muscle function. The dysfunction seen in 6-hour-old cadaver aortas was normalized after transplantation and 24 hours of reperfusion.