Effect of aminophylline on lung maturation in preterm rabbit fetuses

Pregnant rabbit does were treated intravenously with aminophylline (6 mg/kg/day) from the twenty-fifth day after the day of mating, and the fetuses were delivered by hysterotomy on the twenty-eighth day. One group of neonates was breathing air, and another group 100% oxygen. Lung mechanics were evaluated in the newborn animals during spontaneous or artificial ventilation, and the lungs were studied histologically with particular reference to the alveolar volume density. In one series of experiments, the lungs were washed and the lavage fluid was analyzed for phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. Aminophylline-treated litters had greater body weights, an improved survival rate, and an increased amount of phosphatidylglycerol in lung lavage fluid. Respiratory frequency was increased in aminophylline-treated animals breathing air, but data on lung compliance showed no significant difference between treated and control animals. In the present model, the beneficial effect of aminophylline can be attributed largely to a combination of accelerated fetal growth and improved postnatal regulation of breathing and less to a specific influence on the biochemical and functional maturation of the lung.