Perfluorochemical rescue after surfactant treatment: effect of perflubron dose and ventilatory frequency

To test the hypotheses that perfluorochemical (PFC) liquid rescue after natural surfactant (SF) treatment would improve pulmonary function and histology and that this profile would be influenced by PFC dose or ventilator strategy, anesthetized preterm lambs (n = 31) with respiratory distress were studied using nonpreoxygenated perflubron. All animals received SF at 1 h and were randomized at 2 h as follows and studied to 4 h postnatal age: 1) conventional mechanical gas ventilation (n = 8), 2) 30 ml/kg perflubron with gas ventilation [partial liquid ventilation (PLV)] at 60 breaths/min (n = 8), 3) 10 ml/kg perflubron with PLV at 60 breaths/min (n = 7), and 4) 10 ml/kg perflubron with PLV at 30 breaths/min (n = 8). All animals tolerated instillation without additional cardiopulmonary instability. All perflubron-rescued groups demonstrated sustained improvement in gas exchange, respiratory compliance, and reduction in pressure requirements relative to animals receiving SF alone. Improvement was directly related to perflubron dose and breathing frequency; peak inspiratory pressure required to achieve physiological gas exchange was lower in the higher-dose and -frequency groups, and mean airway pressure was lower in the lower-frequency group. Lung expansion was greater and evidence of barotrauma was less in the higher-dose and -frequency group; regional differences in expansion were not different as a function of dose but were greater in the lower-frequency group. Regional differences in lung perflubron content were reduced in the higher-dose and -frequency groups and greatest in the lower-dose and -frequency group. The results suggest that, whereas PLV of the SF-treated lung improves gas exchange and lung mechanics, the protective benefits of perflubron in the lung may depend on dose and ventilator strategy to optimize PFC distribution and minimize exposure of the alveolar-capillary membrane to a gas-liquid interface.