Physical and physiological characteristics of pressure-driven hemorrhage

Research on hemorrhage has concentrated on its effects rather than the manner of occurrence. A new experimental method in which the rate of bleeding is a function of prevailing arterial pressure is proposed and described. The effects of standard crystalloid volume expansion and of small volume hypertonic treatment on this protocol are demonstrated. In pressure-driven hemorrhage, survival time and the decay of arterial pressure, cardiac output, oxygen consumption, and base excess are functions of the bleeding rate, but plasma proteins and hematocrits are independent. The decay of arterial pressure is also a complex function of blood volume deficit, but this relation is not dependent on the rate of blood removal. Volume expansion induces a recovery of circulatory function despite enhanced blood loss. A comparison between equiosmolar solutions of hypertonic sodium chloride and acetate shows that acetate produces a smaller pressor (hence less blood loss) but larger blood flow (hence higher O2 availability) effect. The possible importance of the isochloremic nature of the response to acetate is highlighted.