Gastritis and gastric blood flow in hyperdynamic septic pigs

The present study was designed to determine the gastric hemodynamics in a septic model that causes both a hyperdynamic state and acute erosive gastritis. Sepsis was established in twelve pigs by the intramuscular shank injection of Pastuerella multocida (42 X 10(8) colonies) in triptose phosphate broth; four pigs received sterile broth injections (shams) and eight received sterile saline injections (controls). After 18 hours, cardiac output was measured by both the cardiogreen dilution technic and the radioactive microsphere dilution technic; cardiac output was then compared to total and regional gastric blood flow measured by the raioactive microsphere entrapment technic. Acute erosive gastritis developed in septic pigs in the fundus and body of the stomach; the antrum was spared. Cardiac output was significantly increased in septic pigs compared with sham and control pigs. Total gastric blood flow and regional blood flow to the fundus, body, and antrum were also increased in direct proportion to the increase in cardiac output. These data suggest that acute erosive gastritis is primarily due to an end-organ cellular insult from sepsis and is not primarily due to a decrease or redistribution in gastric blood flow.