Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 50, Issue 6 1151-1155, Copyright © 1981 by American Physiological Society
Increases in lung lymph and albumin clearance with ethchlorvynol
R. P. Fairman, F. L. Glauser and R. Falls
We studied anesthetized dogs with right lymph duct (RLD) preparations and
measured lymph flow, albumin concentrations in lymph (L) and plasma (P),
pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
(PCWP). Intravenous (iv) injection of ethchlorvynol (15-25 mg/kg) was
followed by significant (p less than 0.02) increases in right lymph duct
flow from 0.9 +/- 0.3 to 5.4 +/- 1.6 ml/h with stable PAP, PCWP, and L/P
albumin (0.8 +/- 0.05 and 0.9 +/- 0.1). Similar results in RLD flow were
obtained in dogs given 1) diphenhydramine, 3 mg/kg iv loading dose and 1.5
mg.kg-1 .h -1 infusion; 2) indomethacin, 4 gm/kg iv loading dose and 4
mg.kg-1h-1 infusion; 3) methylprednisolone, 30 mg/kg iv; 4)
cyclophosphamide (40 mg/kg iv) to induce leukopenia (900 WBC/mm3) prior to
ethchlorvynol injection. Cardiac lymph flow increased also and cardiac L/P
albumin remained stable. Total hemolytic complement remained normal. We
conclude that lung vascular permeability is increased following
ethchlorvynol injection. Ethchlorvynol may have a direct effect on lung
vascular permeability since, unlike other experimental models, complement
activation, leukocytes, prostaglandins, and histamine play insignificant
roles. A "final common pathway" may not exist for all forms of increased
permeability pulmonary edema.
