Evaluation of a new solution containing trehalose for twenty-hour canine lung preservation

We examined the efficacy of two new preservation solutions containing trehalose--an extracellular type (ET-K) of solution and an intracellular type (IT-K) of solution--in relation to that of Euro-Collins (EC) solution in 20-h canine lung preservation. Canine lungs were flushed with one of the three solutions (n = 5 for each solution) after pretreatment with PGE1 (20 micrograms/kg) and were stored for 20 h at 4 degrees C. The left lungs were transplanted and evaluated to 6 h post transplant. In the ET-K group, the arterial oxygen tension after reperfusion was significantly higher than in the IT-K and EC groups. The pulmonary vascular resistance, wet/dry weight ratio, and histological evaluation of each transplanted lung in the ET-K group were also better than in the IT-K and EC groups. This indicates that ET-K solution is useful for 20-h preservation of canine lung grafts.