[Experimental study of the effectiveness of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and PGI2 derivative against...

Severe respiratory failure was made on twenty dogs with intratracheal administration of the linoleic acid to study the effectiveness of ECMO. The dogs were divided into four groups: First group (GI); respiratory failure, second group (G II); respiratory failure with pumpless A-V bypass, third group (G III); respiratory failure with V-A bypass, fourth group (G IV); respiratory failure with V-A bypass and administration of OP-41483 (PGI2 derivative). The effectiveness of ECMO was studied with different concentration of Prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) and Thromboxane A2 (TxA2). This experiment showed significant prolongation of mean survival time in dogs of respiratory failure treated with the use of ECMO. In GI and G II, TxB2, metabolic product of TxA2, increased and the ratio of 6-ketoPGF1 alpha, metabolic product of PGI2, versus TxB2, decreased progressively. In G III and G IV, the TxB2 was increased during the first two or three hours after intratracheal administration of linoleic acid and then reached a steady level. In G3, the ratio of 6-ketoPGF1 alpha versus TxB2 was approximately 0.5 after the linoleic acid administration. However, in the case of G IV with combined application of PGI2 derivative, the ratio decreased to 0.59 +/- 0.08 in one or two hours after the administration, then increased progressively and reached a value of 1.04 +/- 0.27 in eight hours after the linoleic acid administration. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that therapeutical effects of ECMO against respiratory failure could be elevated by using PGI2 derivative.