Effects of anesthesia and surgery on prostanoid concentrations in plasma and pulmonary lymph

Comparisons were made of plasma and pulmonary lymph concentrations of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and thromboxane B2 between chronic and acute models of the sheep lung lymph fistula preparation. Pentobarbital anesthetized sheep subjected to acute thoracotomy and artificially ventilated demonstrated significantly elevated pulmonary lymph concentrations of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and TxB2 for two hours following surgery while venous or arterial plasma prostanoid concentrations increased to a much lesser degree over the same time period. No changes in plasma or lymph prostanoid concentrations were observed in the unanesthetized, chronic lung lymph preparation during a similar baseline observation period. The rates of decrease of pulmonary lymph prostanoid concentrations in the acute model following surgical preparation suggest the requirement of a three hour stabilization period after completion of all surgical procedures before pulmonary arachidonic acid metabolism reaches steady-state conditions.