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J Appl Physiol 85: 2344-2351, 1998;
8750-7587/98 $5.00
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Vol. 85, Issue 6, 2344-2351, December 1998

Pulmonary gas-exchange analysis by using simultaneous deposition of aerosolized and injected microspheres

William A. Altemeier1, H. Thomas Robertson1, and Robb W. Glenny1,2

Departments of 1 Medicine and of 2 Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6522

    ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

Numerical methods for determining end-capillary gas contents for ventilation-to-perfusion ratios were first developed in the late 1960s. In the 1970s these methods were applied to validate distributions of ventilation-to-perfusion ratios measured by the multiple inert-gas-elimination technique. We combined numerical gas analysis and fluorescent-microsphere measurements of ventilation and perfusion to predict gas exchange at a resolution of ~2.0-cm3 lung volume in pigs. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, and inert gas exchange were calculated in 551-845 compartments/animal before and after pulmonary embolization with 780-µm beads. Whole lung gas exchange was estimated from the perfusion- and ventilation-weighted end-capillary gas contents. Before lung injury, no significant difference existed between microsphere-estimated arterial PO2 and PCO2 and measured values. After lung injury, the microsphere method predicted a decrease in arterial PO2 but consistently underestimated its magnitude. Correlation between predicted and measured inert gas retentions was 0.99. Overestimation of low-solubility inert gas retentions suggests underestimation of areas with low ventilation-to-perfusion ratios by microspheres after lung injury. Regional deposition of aerosolized and injected microspheres is a valid method for investigating regional gas exchange with high spatial resolution.

ventilation heterogeneity; pulmonary blood flow; ventilation-perfusion matching; aerosol; fluorescent microspheres

    INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

THE PRIMARY DETERMINANT of gas exchange efficiency in the lung is the matching of alveolar ventilation (VA) and blood flow (Q) (5, 16). Ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) matching can be assessed by determining ventilation- and perfusion-weighted VA/Q distributions in the lung by using the multiple inert-gas-elimination technique (MIGET) (24). This method is useful for determining the amount of perfusion through low-VA/Q areas and therefore the impact of VA/Q heterogeneity on gas exchange; however, it cannot provide spatial information about regional ventilation and perfusion distributions. Recently, studies using intravenously embolized radioactive microspheres have observed significant heterogeneity of regional perfusion that increases as resolution improves (8, 9, 13). Efficient gas exchange implies a similar degree of ventilation heterogeneity that correlates well with regional perfusion, at least to the level of the respiratory bronchiole. Below that level of scale, gas diffusion increasingly dominates convective forces, and further perfusion heterogeneity may be compensated for by diffusional gas mixing within the gas-exchanging unit.

High-resolution measurements of regional lung expansion by radiopaque topographical markers (12) and computed tomography (19) have demonstrated significant spatial heterogeneity. However, these techniques measure static volume distribution during an inspiratory pause and may not represent true regional ventilation because gas redistributes between regions of different time constants after cessation of inspiratory flow. These methods also do not allow simultaneous measurement of regional perfusion and therefore cannot be validated by predictions of gas exchange as initially done with MIGET (15, 25).

Recently, Robertson and co-workers (17) reported high-spatial-resolution measurements of regional ventilation by using aerosolized 1-µm fluorescent microspheres. They showed that simultaneously aerosolized pairs of microspheres yield regional distributions with a high degree of correlation and with minimal deposition in airways. They also demonstrated a high degree of correlation between simultaneously aerosolized and intravenously injected microsphere distributions. Although this suggests that aerosolized microsphere deposition is an accurate marker of regional ventilation, no calculations of gas exchange were done to confirm that physiologically relevant VA/Q distributions were measured.

To evaluate aerosolized 1-µm-microsphere deposition as a measurement of regional ventilation, we measured VA/Q distributions in five juvenile pigs with normal and abnormal gas exchange by simultaneously using aerosolized and injected fluorescent microspheres. These data are used to predict regional alveolar and end-capillary tensions of both respiratory and inert gases of varying solubility in multiple compartments of ~2-cm3 volume. Whole lung gas exchange is determined from mean perfusion- and ventilation-weighted end-capillary gas contents.

    METHODS
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Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

The experiments were approved by the Animal Care Committee at the University of Washington. Briefly, regional ventilation and perfusion were measured in five mechanically ventilated, normal pigs by using aerosolized 1-µm microspheres and injected 15-µm fluorescent microspheres. Measurements were repeated after vascular embolization with 780-µm polystyrene beads. Data were collected for MIGET analysis at all time points for the five animals. A complete description of the experimental protocol may be found in our companion paper (2).

Generation of VA/Q Distributions from Microsphere Data

Fluorescent signals in each lung piece are linearly proportional to alveolar ventilation and perfusion to that piece and are converted to milliliters per minute by multiplying the fraction of the total lung fluorescence in the piece by the total alveolar ventilation or cardiac output, respectively. Total alveolar ventilation is calculated by subtracting the anatomic dead-space volume from the measured expired tidal volume and multiplying by the respiratory rate. In the first three animals, the inert-gas dead space of acetone from the initial set of MIGET data was used to estimate anatomic dead space (11). In the final two animals, anatomic dead space was graphically determined from the single-breath washout of CO2. Before embolization, exhaled CO2 concentration measured with an infrared CO2 detector (model 1260, Novametrix Medical Systems, Wallingford, CT) was digitally sampled at 200 Hz. Exhaled flow measured with a pneumotach was simultaneously sampled at 200 Hz and integrated to provide volume. CO2 concentration was plotted against expired volume and dead space estimated by Fowler's method (6, 28). The dead space estimated from three consecutive breaths was averaged.

Numerical Gas Analysis

Data were analyzed by using an Excel 5.0 spreadsheet and macros written with Visual Basic for Applications (Microsoft, Redmond, WA). The program uses ventilation and perfusion data (ml/min) to determine the VA/Q distribution and its effect on respiratory and inert gas exchange. The data may also be manipulated to allow comparison with the 50-compartment model of VA/Q distribution provided by MIGET software.

Alveolar tensions of O2 and CO2 (PAO2 and PACO2, respec-tively) and end-capillary O2 and CO2 contents (CecO2 and CecCO2, respectively) for each lung piece are determined by solving mass balance equations for each gas, given that piece's VA/Q (Fig. 1). A full discussion of the calculations may be found in the APPENDIX.


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Fig. 1.   Calculation of whole lung gas exchange by perfusion- and ventilation-weighted averages of arterial and alveolar gas composition of individual lung pieces. Given an individual lung piece's perfusion and ventilation plus data on mixed venous blood composition, Hb, temperature (temp), barometric pressure, and individual P50, end-capillary gas composition is calculated by developed software. Flow-weighted average of all pieces will give arterial gas composition; the ventilation-weighted average gives mixed alveolar gas composition. PAO2, alveolar PO2; VA, alveolar ventilation; Q, blood flow; CaO2 and CaCO2, arterial O2 and CO2 content respectively; PecO2 and PecCO2, end-capillary PO2 and PCO2, respectively; CecO2 and CecCO2, end-capillary O2 and CO2 content, respectively; pH<OVL>v</OVL>, P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>, and P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>: mixed venous pH, PO2, and PCO2, respectively; PB, barometric pressure; subscript 1, 2, n, and i: piece 1, piece 2, total no. of pieces, and piece i, respectively.

Once CecO2 and CecCO2 are calculated for each lung piece, they are weighted by each piece's perfusion, summed, and divided by the total cardiac output to calculate the arterial contents, CaO2 and CaCO2, respectively. The arterial gas tensions, PaO2 and PaCO2, are then calculated by using the developed software. The mixed PAO2 used to calculate the alveolar-arterial O2 difference (A-aDO2) is calculated by summing each piece's ventilation-weighted PAO2 and dividing by the total alveolar ventilation. Assuming complete equilibration between the alveolar gas and end-capillary blood, this gives
P<SC>a</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = <FR><NU><LIM><OP>∑</OP><LL><IT>i</IT>=1</LL><UL><IT>n</IT></UL></LIM> <A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SUB><IT>i</IT></SUB> ⋅ Pec<SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB></NU><DE><LIM><OP>∑</OP><LL><IT>i</IT>=1</LL><UL><IT>n</IT></UL></LIM> <A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SUB><IT>i</IT></SUB></DE></FR> (1)
where Vi is the alveolar ventilation to piece i, n is the number of pieces analyzed from the lung, and PecO2 is the end-capillary O2 tension. The microsphere-estimated A-aDO2 (A-aDO2 MS) is compared with the A-aDO2 calculated with the alveolar gas equation (3), the measured arterial gas tensions, and the measured respiratory quotient (A-aDO2 ABG). The A-aDO2 MS includes only gas exchange abnormalities from VA/Q heterogeneity, as opposed to the A-aDO2 ABG, which includes abnormalities caused by intracardiac and postpulmonary shunt as well as any possible diffusion limitation.

The arterial retentions [arterial pressure (Pa)/mixed venous pressure (P<OVL>v</OVL>)] of the six inert gases were estimated from the measured VA/Q distribution. Because an inert gas does not interact with components of blood, its end-capillary retention [end-capillary pressure (Pec)/P<OVL>v</OVL>] depends only on the gas solubility in plasma (lambda ) and the VA/Q of that particular lung compartment (18)
<FR><NU>Pec</NU><DE>P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A></DE></FR> = <FR><NU>&lgr;</NU><DE>&lgr; + <FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></DE></FR> (2)
The arterial retention for each inert gas was calculated by summing the perfusion-weighted end-capillary retentions
<FR><NU>Pa</NU><DE>P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A></DE></FR> = <FR><NU><LIM><OP>∑</OP><LL><IT>i</IT>=1</LL><UL><IT>n</IT></UL></LIM> <A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SUB><IT>i</IT></SUB> ⋅ <FR><NU>Pec</NU><DE>P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A></DE></FR></NU><DE>CO</DE></FR> (3)
where Qi is the perfusion to piece i, and CO is the total cardiac output. The calculated arterial retentions for each inert gas were compared with the retentions measured on a gas chromatograph (model 3300, Varian, Palo Alto, CA).

Statistics and Data Manipulation

All data, unless otherwise stated, are presented as means ± SD. Paired t-tests are used for statistical comparisons. Up to eight pieces were excluded from each data set because of unexplained, very high fluorescence signal, usually in the orange color. For numerical gas analysis, no pieces were excluded because of airway content; those with airway content >= 25% generally had very low ventilation and perfusion signals and did not significantly contribute to gas exchange.

    RESULTS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

Aerosolized and injected microsphere distributions were measured in 551-851 pieces/animal. Nine measurements were made in normal lungs and five measurements were made in lungs with abnormal gas exchange. Only one measurement was made with normal gas exchange in the first animal due to an aerosol generator malfunction. The developed software found a solution for end-capillary gas contents for almost all lung pieces. A solution was not found in 0-9 pieces/data set. This occurred exclusively in pieces with low flow and a VA/Q > 200; therefore, the impact on estimates of mixed arterial contents was negligible.

In the normal lungs, the mean microsphere-estimated PaO2 was 110 Torr (Fig. 2) and the mean PaCO2 was 33.3 Torr. Neither was significantly different from the measured values. The mean difference between A-aDO2 MS and A-aDO2 ABG of 0.36 was not significant (Table 1). MIGET consistently underestimated the PaO2 (Fig. 2) and overestimated PaCO2 in the normal lungs.


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Fig. 2.   Comparison of microsphere- and multiple inert-gas-elimination technique (MIGET)-estimated arterial PO2 (PaO2). In normal lungs, microsphere-measured ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) distributions are more accurate at predicting PaO2 than is MIGET. After embolization, microsphere method estimates a fall in PaO2 but consistently underestimates magnitude.

                              
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Table 1.   A-aDO2 estimated by microspheres and calculated from measured arterial gases and the respiratory exchange ratio

In the abnormal lungs, microsphere-measured ventilation and perfusion distributions predicted a decrease in PaO2 and an increase in PaCO2; however, the magnitude of these changes was consistently underestimated (Fig. 2). The A-aDO2 MS differed from the A-aDO2 ABG by a mean of 19.1. MIGET also consistently underestimated the degree of gas exchange abnormality after embolization but to a lesser degree (Fig. 2).

Microsphere-measured VA/Q distributions predicted arterial retentions of inert gases of varying solubilities with high precision. Grouping all animals and conditions together, the correlation of microsphere-predicted retentions for six inert gases with measured retentions is 0.992 (Fig. 3A). When only preembolization data are evaluated, the correlation between microsphere-estimated and measured retentions is 0.995, whereas, when only postembolization data are considered, the correlation is 0.989. A plot of the difference between measured and predicted retentions against measured retentions (Fig. 3B) reveals a consistent bias to underestimate the arterial retention of low-solubility gases, suggesting an underestimation of low-VA/Q units by the microsphere method. This bias increases when gas exchange has been impaired.


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Fig. 3.   Microsphere-estimated inert gas exchange. Open symbols, baseline measurements; solid symbols, postembolization measurements. A: microsphere-measured inert gas retentions are highly correlated with measured values about a line of unity. B: systematic underestimation of retentions for low-solubility gases sulfur hexafluoride and ethane after embolization suggest underestimation of low-VA/Q regions.

High-resolution measurements of ventilation and perfusion allow the effect of VA/Q distribution on gas exchange to be evaluated with a number of novel approaches. A scattergram of perfusion on the abscissa and ventilation on the ordinate produces a plot with isopleths of constant VA/Q, permitting evaluation of the contribution of individual pieces to overall gas exchange (Fig. 4). For example, a piece with high perfusion located along a low-VA/Q isopleth will affect PaO2 more than a piece with similar VA/Q but lower perfusion. Pieces may also be grouped by CecO2 to construct a flow-weighted histogram (Fig. 5). Finally, VA/Q data may be grouped into any number of perfusion- or ventilation-weighted bins and plotted as a frequency polygon (Fig. 6). Using 50 compartments allows direct comparison with VA/Q measurements from MIGET.


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Fig. 4.   Scattergram of regional ventilation and blood flow. A: in normal lungs, there is significant VA/Q heterogeneity as demonstrated by range over which ventilation and perfusion are distributed, yet correlation between ventilation and perfusion is 0.89, resulting in efficient gas exchange. B: after embolization, range over which ventilation and perfusion are distributed is not significantly changed; however, correlation between ventilation and perfusion has decreased to 0.72, resulting in decreased efficiency of gas exchange.


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Fig. 5.   Flow-weighted histogram of CecO2. A: in normal lungs, there is a narrow distribution of CecO2 because VA/Q matching is sufficient to result in nearly complete hemoglobin saturation. CecO2 are low because of significant anemia in animal. B: after embolization, distribution of CecO2 broadens because of low-VA/Q regions. No shunt is detected, as demonstrated by absence of CecO2 equal to that of mixed venous blood (C<OVL>v</OVL>O2).


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Fig. 6.   Ventilation- and perfusion-weighted distributions of VA/Q. In these graphs, ventilation- or perfusion-weighted log(VA/Q) distributions have been binned into 48 compartments between log(0.005) and log(100) plus shunt and dead space to emulate data presentation from MIGET software. A: in normal lungs, microsphere-generated 50-compartment distributions had SDs significantly lower than typical MIGET-measured distributions. Enforced smoothing algorithms in MIGET limit resolving capabilities to SDs of 0.35-0.4. B: after embolization, SDs of both ventilation- and perfusion-weighted distributions increase, accompanied by a decrease in mean of distributions.

    DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

The primary finding of this study is that measurement of regional ventilation with aerosolized 1-µm microspheres, when combined with simultaneous measurement of regional perfusion, can predict whole lung gas exchange of both respiratory gases and inert gases of widely varying solubility.

In normal lungs, high-resolution measurements of ventilation and perfusion by microspheres accurately predict PaO2 and PaCO2. Because arterial blood is fully saturated in normal lungs, small differences in O2 content are associated with large differences in PaO2 due to the low solubility of O2 in plasma. Thus even small errors in the calculated CaO2 would be magnified when calculating PaO2.

In this study, MIGET significantly underestimated PaO2 and overestimated PaCO2, probably due to consistent underestimation of the mean VA/Q distribution. MIGET algorithms described a bimodal ventilation distribution with a high VA/Q component in the majority of animals studied. Given a fixed total minute ventilation, this causes the perfusion-weighted distribution to shift to a lower mean VA/Q and an underestimation of gas exchange. This erroneous identification by MIGET of a high-VA/Q mode may be caused by airway excretion of highly soluble gases, particularly acetone (7, 22, 23).

The microsphere-measured VA/Q distributions significantly underestimate gas-exchange impairment after vascular embolization. Predicted PaO2 values all decreased after embolization but were consistently overestimated. There are three possible explanations for this systematic error. First, the degree of VA/Q heterogeneity may be underestimated by the microsphere method. This could occur if a tissue cube receives blood flow from two different vessels. If one vessel has reduced flow postembolization and the other has increased flow, our method does not measure this change and therefore underestimates VA/Q heterogeneity within that tissue cube (Fig. 7A). This type of error is possible because the lungs are not diced along vascular boundaries. A second potential explanation for the underestimated PaO2 is development of a diffusion limitation postembolization. Calculation of CaO2 in both our method and MIGET assumes equilibration between PecO2 and PAO2. If flow redistribution increases transit time sufficiently for some capillaries, this assumption may be invalid (Fig. 7B). Diffusion limitation has been proposed as an explanation for overestimation of PaO2 by MIGET in studies of pulmonary embolism (4, 20). Given that both methods assume end-capillary-alveolar equilibrium of gas tensions and that the microsphere-estimated PaO2 is consistently greater than MIGET-estimated PaO2 after embolization, it is unlikely that diffusion limitation is the sole explanation for our overestimation of PaO2. A third possible cause for our overestimatation of PaO2 could be an underestimation of right-to-left shunt. The microsphere technique measures intrapulmonary shunt (VA/Q = 0) only if the entire lung region examined receives no ventilation. Shunt occurring below this resolution would decrease the cube's microsphere-measured VA/Q but causes an overestimation of the cube's CecO2. Similarly, microsphere measurements of pulmonary perfusion cannot measure extrapulmonary shunt. Neither mechanism seems to be the source of error in our studies because MIGET does not demonstrate an increase in shunt postembolization. Because MIGET is based on the retention of intravenously infused inert gases in the arterial blood, it is not limited by lung-piece size and does measure intracardiac shunt. MIGET does not measure postpulmonary shunt caused by the bronchial circulation or the Thebesian veins; however, gas-exchange abnormalities due to postpulmonary shunt will be equally underestimated by MIGET and cannot explain the disparity between the microsphere- and MIGET-estimated PaO2.


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Fig. 7.   Possible mechanisms for underestimation of arterial PO2 after lung injury by microsphere method. A: after embolization, VA/Q heterogeneity developed because of redistribution of regional perfusion. Measurements of perfusion and ventilation in a 2.0-cm3 tissue cube that is supplied by 2 different vessels will underestimate VA/Q heterogeneity if magnitude of flows in 2 vessels change in different directions, resulting in an averaging of high- and low-VA/Q regions. B: transit time in pulmonary capillaries has been estimated at 0.75 s, whereas time estimated for equilibration between end-capillary blood and alveolar gas is 0.25 s. If flow through a pulmonary capillary increases more than 3-fold after embolization, a functional diffusion limitation may occur.

Gas exchange may also be evaluated by the A-aDO2. An increase in A-aDO2 is caused by VA/Q heterogeneity, shunt, or a diffusion limitation. VA/Q heterogeneity increases the A-aDO2 because PAO2 is calculated by a ventilation-weighted average of the equilibrated oxygen tension in each piece, whereas PaO2 is calculated by a flow-weighted average of oxygen tension in each piece. Thus pieces with high VA/Q that have higher PecO2 contribute more to the PAO2, and pieces with a low VA/Q that have lower PecO2 contribute more to PaO2. Although a significant difference does not exist between the A-aDO2 ABG and the A-aDO2 MS in the normal lungs, the individual data provide interesting insights. First, in five of the nine preembolization measurements, the A-aDO2 MS was lower than the A-aDO2 ABG. Because diffusion limitation is not believed to occur in the normal lung, the difference can only be explained by underestimation of low VA/Q perfusion or shunt by the microsphere method. The normal presence of a small shunt from the Thebesian vessels and the bronchial circulation will contribute to this discrepancy; however, the lower estimate of A-aDO2 by microspheres raises the possibility that VA/Q heterogeneity is being underestimated. Of note, three of the nine A-aDO2 ABG preembolizations are negative, which is physiologically impossible. This is likely the result of a summation of errors in measurements of PaCO2 and the respiratory quotient used in the alveolar gas equation. The A-aDO2 MS increased postembolization in all five animals, consistent with the increased VA/Q heterogeneity seen with both microsphere and MIGET methods. However, the A-aDO2 MS was consistently less than the A-aDO2 ABG, most likely resulting from unmeasured VA/Q heterogeneity below the scale of resolution for this method.

Predicting inert gas exchange for a given VA/Q distribution has several advantages over respiratory gas exchange. First, inert gases do not interact with blood components or each other; therefore, gas-exchange prediction only involves solving mass balance equations without iterative techniques. Second, by examining the predictions of gas exchange for gases of varying solubilities, some inference may be made as to sources of error. Figure 3B shows that the microsphere technique consistently underestimates the arterial retention of gases that are poorly soluble in blood (sulfur hexafluoride and ethane). Because these gases are readily excreted into the alveoli when exposed to ventilation, this finding suggests an underestimation of low-VA/Q perfusion by the microsphere method. Underestimation of heterogeneity occurring below the microsphere method's resolution implies that there should be a consistent overestimation of retentions of high-solubility gas (e.g., acetone) due to unmeasured high VA/Q units. Figure 3B suggests that the microsphere method tends to overestimate acetone retention.

The calculated inert gas retentions support the hypothesis that unmeasured VA/Q heterogeneity exists below the present resolution of the microsphere method. The measured heterogeneity of regional perfusion is scale dependent and increases as resolution improves beyond the resolution obtained in these experiments (8). Similarly, regional ventilation has scale dependence with increasing heterogeneity, at least to the resolution obtained in these experiments (1). A similar volume of human lung at total lung capacity would have ~10 acini (10); therefore, 2.0-cm3 lung pieces from a 14-kg pig has >10 acini, suggesting that measured regional ventilation heterogeneity could increase at smaller resolutions. Because VA/Q heterogeneity is determined by the individual heterogeneities of the regional perfusion and ventilation distributions minus a component determined by the correlation of regional perfusion and ventilation (27), resolution-dependent underestimation by microspheres of the true heterogeneity of regional perfusion and of regional ventilation will likely result in overestimation of gas exchange.

The results of this study support the use of aerosolized microspheres to measure regional ventilation. In normal lungs, the 2.0-cm3 regional measurements obtained in this study provide adequate resolution for evaluating gas exchange. The overestimation of arterial oxygen tension in embolized lungs is likely due to the presence of resolution-dependent underestimation of the true heterogeneity of ventilation and perfusion. These results emphasize the importance of regional perfusion and ventilation heterogeneity on a small scale in determining gas exchange. Studies with higher resolution are warranted to determine whether the accuracy of microsphere prediction of gas exchange in abnormal lungs can be improved. This technique will also be useful in determining whether regional heterogeneity in perfusion and ventilation are as important in gas exchange abnormalities of other disease models and in exploring the relative importance of correlation between regional ventilation and perfusion.

    APPENDIX
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

Numerical Gas Analysis

The mass balance equation for O2 is
<FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>i</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></FENCE> P<SC>i</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − <FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></FENCE> P<SC>a</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = <IT>k</IT> (Cec<SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − C<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>) (4)
where VI is the inspired regional ventilation, VA is the expired regional ventilation, C<OVL>v</OVL>O2 is the O2 content of mixed venous blood, and k is a temperature-dependent factor that converts between STPD and BTPS units. Because the inspired partial pressure of CO2 is ~0, the term VI/Q drops out of the mass balance equation for CO2
<FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></FENCE> P<SC>a</SC><SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = <IT>k</IT> (C<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − Cec<SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>) (5)
where C<OVL>v</OVL>CO2 is the CO2 content of mixed venous blood. Introducing the term VI/Q results in three unknown variables for the two equations. To solve Eqs. 4 and 5, the mass balance of N2 and the summation of partial pressures must also be considered
<FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>i</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></FENCE> P<SC>i</SC><SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − <FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></NU><DE><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></DE></FR></FENCE> P<SC>a</SC><SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = &lgr;N<SUB>2</SUB> (Pec<SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − P<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>) (6)
P<SC>a</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> + P<SC>a</SC><SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> + P<SC>a</SC><SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = P<SC>b</SC> − P<SC>h</SC><SUB>2</SUB><SC>o</SC> (7)
where PIN2 is the partial pressure of N2 in the inspired gas; PAN2 is the partial pressure of N2 in the alveolar gas; lambda N2 is the blood-gas partition coefficient (defined as k × the solubility of N2, 0.0017 ml/100 ml blood); PecN2is the partial pressure of N2 in the end-capillary blood; P<OVL>v</OVL>N2 is the partial pressure of N2 in mixed venous blood; PB is the barometric pressure; and PH2O is the partial pressure of water in fully saturated gas at the given temperature. Because N2 does not interact with Hb, partial pressure is directly proportional to content by the solubility of N2. Furthermore, because there is no net exchange of N2 between the environment and the blood, P<OVL>v</OVL>N2 may be assumed to equal PIN2.

Assuming no diffusion limitation of the respiratory gases, the end-capillary tension of gas X is equal to its alveolar tension. Thus CecO2 and CecCO2 are related to PAO2 and PACO2 by the O2-Hb and CO2-Hb dissociation curves.

The solution of Eqs. 4-7 may be simplified by solving Eq. 4 for VI/Q, substituting this into Eq. 6, and solving for PAN2. Finally, this may be substituted into Eq. 7 and, with some rearrangement, yield
<FENCE><FR><NU><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC> / <A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A> + &lgr;N<SUB>2</SUB></NU><DE>P<SC>i</SC><SUB>N<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> / P<SC>i</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB></DE></FR></FENCE> (P<SC>b</SC> − P<SC>h</SC><SUB>2</SUB><SC>o</SC> − P<SC>a</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − P<SC>a</SC><SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>) 
− <A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC> / <A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A> ⋅ P<SC>a</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − &lgr;N<SUB>2</SUB> ⋅ P<SC>i</SC><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> = <IT>k</IT> (Cec<SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB> − C<A><AC>v</AC><AC>¯</AC></A><SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB></SUB>) (8)
CecO2 and CecCO2 may now be solved for any given VA/Q by using Eqs. 5 and 8.

Because PecO2 and PecCO2 are interdependent as determined by the Bohr and Haldane effects, the solution of these equations requires an iterative process. The algorithm utilized is fully described by Olszowka and Wagner (15). Briefly, two initial estimates are made of end-capillary pH (pHec) and PecO2, and these are used to calculate PecCO2, CecO2, and CecCO2. If the results do not satisfy Eqs. 5 and 8 within preset tolerance limits, the results from the first two estimates are used to make a third estimate of pHec and PecO2. This process is iterated until Eqs. 5 and 8 are satisfied within preset tolerances. If the software does not converge on a satisfactory solution after 50 iterations, then that piece is excluded from further analysis and the program moves to the next piece.

The subroutines used to calculate PecCO2, CecO2, and CecCO2 for a given pHec and PecO2 were developed by Olszowka and Farhi (14) to describe whole lung gas exchange. We apply them to determine gas exchange for each piece of lung tissue, resulting in 551-845 compartments of gas exchange. These compartments may be perfusion or ventilation weighted and averaged to yield whole lung gas exchange. Briefly, O2 content is calculated by first describing a "virtual" PecO2 or what the actual PecO2 would be on a normal, human O2-Hg dissociation curve at a pH of 7.4 and a PecCO2 of 40 Torr. This is done assuming the shape of the dissociation curve is similar under different physiological conditions and between species and then calculating the shift caused by temperature, base excess, and species-specific P50 (the PecO2 at standard conditions and 50% Hb saturation). For these experiments using pigs, the P50, temperature coefficient, and fixed-acid Bohr coefficient used are 35.7 Torr, 0.016, and 0.441, respectively (26). The virtual PecO2 is used to calculate an Hb saturation by using a formula described by Severinghaus (21). The saturation is used in the calculation of PecCO2 at 37°C, which is used to calculate CO2 content. Finally, PecCO2 is calculated at the given temperature, assuming a constant CO2 content.

Data for the gas-analysis computations are entered into a simple template in an Excel 5.0 workbook. The required inputs for solving the arterial gas contents are the regional ventilations and perfusions (ml/min), species type, barometric pressure, Hb, body temperature, inspired oxygen fraction, mixed venous pH, oxygen tension, and carbon dioxide tension. A specific P50 value may be entered if measured. If inert gas retentions are desired, then the solubilities must be entered. The output consists of regional and mixed arterial gas contents, a brief statistical summary of the VA/Q distribution, and several graphical displays corresponding to Figs. 4-6. The software will run on Macintosh OS and Windows 95 operating systems and is available from the author on request.

    FOOTNOTES

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Address for reprint requests: W. A. Altemeier, Div. of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, BB-1253 Health Sciences Bldg., Box 356522, Seattle, WA 98195-6522 (E-mail: billa{at}u.washington.edu).

Received 17 March 1998; accepted in final form 26 August 1998.

    REFERENCES
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Appendix
References

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J APPL PHYSIOL 85(6):2344-2351
8570-7587/98 $5.00 Copyright © 1998 the American Physiological Society



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