Decreased reticuloendothelial phagocytic function following prolonged in vivo blood pumping - preliminary...

The composite findings described above suggest that the relatively mild blood trauma (and possibly altered arterial pulse waveforms), which were produced during the prolonged pump perfusions, sufficed to produce a modest but distinct measure of compromise in the phagocytic function of the RES in the majority of animals. Among possible factors contributing to the observed decreases in the RES phagocytic function of perfused animals are 1) pump-induced alteration of blood flow pattern RES elements (particularly decreased hepatic perfusion), 2) impaired opsonization, and 3) depressed phagocytic capability of RES cellular elements (due possibly to partial RES blockade by blood breakdown products. The specific role of these and possibly other factors requires furher clarification. The findings thus suggest that fixed tissue elements, as well as circulating blood cells, may be vulnerable to the hematological, and possibly the hemodynamic derangements which accompany prolonged perfusion with mechanical circulatory devices.