Haemorrhagic shock--metabolic parameters for the assessment of damage in lung, liver and kidney tissue

Changes in catabolic and biosynthetic parameters measured in vitro were used as criteria to assess the degree of damage in tissues after an animal was exposed to severe haemorrhagic shock for periods of 1 and 2 hours (blood loss 36,8%, blood pressure 30 +/- 5 mmHg). The biosynthetic capacity of lung tissue, as determined by the incorporation of 1-14C-palmitate into total lung lipids, declined significantly with time. This reduction correlates well (r =0,99) with the rate of decline in 14CO2 production from 1-14C- and 6-14C-glucose oxidation as well as with the decline in the rate of oxygen uptake. Any one of these parameters could therefore be used as an index of the degree of tissue damage due to haemorrhagic shock. Comparing the rates of decline in 14CO2 production from 1-14C-glucose by lung, liver and kidney tissue from the same animal after haemorrhagic insult for 1 hour, lung tissue appeared to be the most sensitive to hypoxia and kidney the least so. However, 2 hours after severe haemorrhage, i.e. near the terminal phase, the rate of 14CO2 production from 6-14C-glucose by liver tissue decreased dramatically by more than 53% of the control value. Apart from kidney and lung dysfunction, irreparable liver damage probably plays a major role in the fatal course of severe haemorrhage.