Effects of anti-shock agents on the re-opened superior mesenteric artery flow

We investigated intestinal blood circulation after re-opening of a fixed-time occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in rabbits. The SMA root was occluded for 60 minutes, after which blood pressure and SMA flow were monitored for one hundred minutes under the administration with fluid infusion of three anti-shock agents; dopamine, phenoxybenzamine and dexamethasone. The intestinal wall tissue circulation in parallel with SMA flow was also studied. Blood pressure and SMA flow decreased after release of the SMA occlusion (SMAO), as compared those during pre-occlusive time in the control group. Fluid infusion alone did not improve blood pressure and SMA flow. Pre-administration of dexamethasone with fluid infusion improved blood pressure, SMA flow and the survival rate. Phenoxybenzamine with fluid infusion improved SMA flow, despite the low blood pressure. Circulatory damage to the intestinal wall was more extensive than that to SMA flow. These findings suggest that the severity and mortality of SMAO shock was not caused by plasma loss but rather by toxic metabolites and endotoxin from the ischemic intestine.