Effects of inspiratory oxygen concentration and ventilation method on a model of hemorrhagic shock in rats

The effect of inspiratory oxygen concentration and the ventilation method on hemorrhagic shock was investigated. Twenty-eight rats were divided into four groups: mechanical ventilation with pure oxygen (M100); mechanical ventilation with air (M21); spontaneous respiration with pure oxygen (S100); and spontaneous respiration with air (S21). Under intravenous pentobarbital anesthesia, hemorrhagic shock (HS) was induced by withdrawal of blood from the femoral artery. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was maintained at 40-50 mmHg for 2 h. After HS, the blood remaining in the reservoir was reinfused. Then survival rate and MAP were monitored for 2 h. Blood samples were withdrawn and vascular reactivity to norepinephrine (NE; 3.0 micrograms/kg) was tested before and after HS. Results were shown by changes in MAP in response to NE. During HS, the survival rate of the S21 group was lower than that of the M100 and S100 groups (p < .05). Before HS, MAPs of M100 and S100 groups were significantly higher than those of M21 and S21 groups (p < .05). In the M100 and M21 groups, MAPs at 2 h after reinfusion were significantly lower than the baseline value (p < .05). Before HS, reactivity to NE of the M21 group was significantly higher than that of the other groups (p < .05). In the M21 group, reactivity to NE after HS was significantly lower than it was before HS (p < .05). Inspiratory oxygen concentration and the ventilation method affect the survival rate and vascular reactivity of the rat hemorrhagic shock model. Selection of the inspiratory oxygen concentration and the ventilation method should be made according to the purpose of the individual experiment.