[Relation of hypoxia and edema of the intestinal wall and skin to colloid osmotic pressure].

Whereas the impact of colloids and crystalloids on hypoxia and edema has been extensively debated with respect to pulmonary function, their corresponding effects on the systemic circulation have been largely ignored. Manifest edema of the intestine and skin develops, however, when the serum colloid osmotic pressure (COP) is lowered to 15 mm Hg or less by crystalloid infusions. Hypoxia of wounds, which may be aggravated by crystalloids, impairs healing and antibacterial defense, and its has been speculated that edema and/or hypoxia of the intestine may be associated with postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction. We therefore studies the relationship between lowering and restoration of the COP, the pO2 of the intestinal surface and skin, and tissue edema. We generated an acute hypoproteinemic fluid overload reducing the COP from around 20 to 10 mm Hg in 56 rabbits by means of a 50% plasma loss and excess replacement with Ringer's lactate. We measured the COP with a membrane having a cut-off level of 20,000 d, the cardiac output (with derivation of further hemodynamic data) with an electromagnetic flow probe around the ascending aorta, and the tissue pO2 (pO2t) in mm Hg with the Dortmund 8-channel surface electrode. After 30 min without infusion (Fig. 1), we assigned 14 animals each at random to 4 treatment groups: (1) no treatment (O); (2) 20% albumin 7.5 ml/kg (A); (3) furosemide 2 mg/kg i.v. given three times at 30-min intervals (F); and (4) the combination of both agents (AF). During the infusion-free interval, the cardiac output and pO2t fell by 20%-30% of baseline (Table 1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)