Lung lymph flow after bone marrow injection into goats was reduced by indomethacin

We examined the pulmonary response to bone marrow embolism in untreated and indomethacin-treated goats. Pulmonary arterial pressure increased by 15 cmH2O after bone marrow infusion, reaching a peak of 37.2 then stabilizing at greater than 30 cmH2O in the control group. In the treated group it increased by 4.3 cmH2O from a base line of 18.5 cmH2O but had returned to base line by 6 h. Lymph flow increased in the control group from a base line of 7.3 ml/h to a peak of 22.4 ml/h and remained near that level. It increased from a base line of 6.4 ml/h to a peak of 9.8 ml/h in the treated group and remained close to that value. The lymph-to-plasma protein ratio was little changed throughout the experiment. Cardiac output decreased by 1.2 l/min in the control group but was unchanged from base line in the treated group. Systemic arterial pressure was similar in both groups of animals. We conclude that indomethacin prevents the pulmonary hypertension seen after bone marrow infusion and protects against some of the increased permeability.