Glucagon treatment of hemorrhagic shock: improved survival and metabolic parameters in a murine shock model

One hundred-twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were shocked at 60 torr for 60 minutes and at the end of this period shed blood was reinfused. The animals were divided into three groups at random. These groups were either treated by N saline or glucose in N saline or glucagon in N saline. Glucagon treatment resulted in increased liver and muscle glucose-glycogen stores in the late period following shock. This was associated with a decrease in liver pyruvate and lactate and improved survival. It appears that glucagon more favorably affects the response to shock in this model than does treatment with glucose or saline.