Vol. 92, Issue 1, 248-256, January 2002
Modeling pulmonary and CNS O2 toxicity and
estimation of parameters for humans
R.
Arieli1,
A.
Yalov2, and
A.
Goldenshluger3
1 Israel Naval Medical Institute and 2 Israel Defense
Force Medical Corps, Haifa 31080; and 3 Department of
Statistics, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
 |
ABSTRACT |
10.1152/japplphysiol.00434.2001.
The
power expression for cumulative oxygen toxicity and the exponential
recovery were successfully applied to various features of oxygen
toxicity. From the basic equation, we derived expressions for a
protocol in which PO2 changes with time. The
parameters of the power equation were solved by using nonlinear
regression for the reduction in vital capacity (
VC) in humans:
%
VC = 0.0082 × t2(PO2/101.3)4.57,
where t is the time in hours and PO2
is expressed in kPa. The recovery of lung volume is
VCt =
VCe ×
e
(
0.42 + 0.00379PO2)t,
where
VCt is the value at time t
of the recovery,
VCe is the value at the end of the
hyperoxic exposure, and PO2 is the prerecovery
oxygen pressure. Data from different experiments on central nervous
system (CNS) oxygen toxicity in humans in the hyperbaric chamber
(n = 661) were analyzed along with data from actual
closed-circuit oxygen diving (n = 2,039) by using a
maximum likelihood method. The parameters of the model were solved for the combined data, yielding the power equation for active diving: K = t2
(PO2/101.3)6.8, where t
is in minutes. It is suggested that the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity in
diving can be derived from the calculated parameter of the normal
distribution: Z = [ln(t)
9.63 +3.38 × ln(PO2/101.3)]/2.02. The recovery time constant for CNS oxygen toxicity was calculated from
the value obtained for the rat, taking into account the effect of body
mass, and yielded the recovery equation: Kt = Ke × e
0.079t, where
Kt and Ke are the values
of K at time t of the recovery process and at the
end of the hyperbaric oxygen exposure, respectively, and t
is in minutes.
hyperbaric oxygen; pulmonary oxygen toxicity; central nervous
system oxygen toxicity
 |
INTRODUCTION |
HYPERBARIC OXYGEN
(HBO) is encountered in clinical treatment in the hyperbaric chamber
and in diving. The risk of oxygen toxicity became a prominent issue
with the increased use of hyperbaric treatment and the expansion of
diving techniques to include oxygen-enriched gas mixtures. However,
there is no satisfactory method of calculating the cumulative risk of
oxygen toxicity during a HBO exposure. There have been various attempts
to quantify the risk of pulmonary oxygen toxicity (9, 15)
and central nervous system (CNS) oxygen toxicity. A recent approach of
Harabin et al. (18) was to process, in one equation,
developing CNS oxygen toxicity, recovery, and the
PO2 threshold (with the assumption being that
any specified form of oxygen toxicity will not develop below the
specified PO2 threshold). However, the
toxic process of HBO could differ widely from the recovery process. The
toxic process itself, non-steady-state production of reactive oxygen
species (ROS) and increased injury, may differ from the steady-state
production and removal of ROS, which is the normal state and in which
recovery may occur. Therefore, one should not expect that one equation
might be applicable to all conditions: developing toxicity, steady
state, and recovery. It is not surprising, therefore, that such
analyses fail to solve the threshold PO2, when
the parameters of an equation describing both oxygen toxicity and the
threshold are solved simultaneously for pulmonary oxygen toxicity
(15) and for CNS oxygen toxicity (17). During
the past few years, we have developed a quantitative approach to both
the toxic process (a power expression) and the exponential recovery
(1-3, 6, 7, 22) for the various forms of oxygen toxicity
in animals and humans. This approach has been used satisfactorily to
interpret various published data and successfully employed to predict
the outcome of HBO exposures on CNS oxygen toxicity (6,
7). Because the possibilities of exposing humans to toxic levels
of oxygen are limited, our present strategy is to discover the laws of
oxygen toxicity in other mammals and to apply them with the appropriate
parameters in humans. Some parameters can be derived from human data,
and others, by allometric extrapolation, can be derived from other mammals. The main body of data for CNS oxygen toxicity has been derived
from the rat, and studying a larger mammal may help refine the
parameters selected for humans.
In the present report, we shall introduce the general power equation
for any form of oxygen toxicity. We shall continue with a description
of its two facets for measurable damage and for all-or-none effects. A
description of the exponential recovery will follow. Parameters will be
suggested for the reduction in vital capacity (VC), as one example of
measurable damage of oxygen toxicity. Parameters will also be suggested
for CNS oxygen toxicity, as one example of the all-or-none phenomena.
To conclude, we shall propose hyperoxic exposure limits for humans.
 |
QUANTITATIVE EXPRESSIONS FOR OXYGEN TOXICITY |
Quantification Principles
We assumed that an oxygen-damaged measurable physiological
variable (DMG) may have the same relationship with time t
and PO2 as the ROS that caused the damage
(2). We formulated equations for the kinetics of the main
ROS by assuming a non-steady state where the action of scavengers is
negligible. On the basis of these equations and the published data on
various forms of oxygen toxicity, we propose our two power equations
(2, 3).
PO2 Effect
In a previous study (2), we showed that the kinetics
of ROS suggest a polynomial relation between ROS production and
PO2. For example, the non-steady-state rate of
production of the hydroxyl radical is d[·OH]/dt = k2(k1[X
][H+]PO2)2
t3(k3[Fe2+] + k4 × k1 × t × PO2), where
X
represents the electron source for oxygen reduction,
each k stands for a rate constant, and brackets denote
concentration (2). In this example, the highest
power of PO2 is 3. The exact form of the
equations should be related to the various chemical reactions that produce the specific damage. Because these are not known for each
specific form of oxygen toxicity, we chose to use the term with the
highest power, assuming it to be the dominant term and, therefore,
suggested that DMG
PO
, where c is the power of the PO2.
Time Effect
At a constant PO2, nonlinear regression of
the various forms of measurable damage caused by oxygen toxicity, such
as reduced VC, blunted hypoxic ventilatory drive, and impaired nerve
conduction, showed a preference for a time-squared relation, which
agrees with the rate of hydrogen peroxide production in a non-steady state: d[H2O2]/dt = k[X
]2
t2[H+]2
PO
(2). Although
H2O2 is not the most potent ROS, if its
production is the slower process, that will be the rate-limiting factor
for other ROS. Therefore, we suggested that DMG
t2 (2).
Power Equations
Based on our study of time and PO2
combinations, we suggested a simplified model in which the most
effective term is that of the highest power of
PO2 (2)
|
(1)
|
where a is a constant related to the units of measured
damage, and c is for the said damage. The same kinetic
principles may be carried over to the all-or-none phenomenon of oxygen
toxicity, such as the appearance of substernal pain, convulsions, and
death. For these forms of oxygen toxicity, Eq. 1 was adapted
as (3)
|
(2)
|
where K is the cumulative oxygen toxicity index. A
symptom may appear when K reaches a threshold value
Kc. Each form of all-or-none oxygen toxicity
would have a different c and Kc.
These power equations agree with various phenomena of oxygen toxicity
(2, 3), and it was proven possible to use the algorithm
derived (3) to predict CNS oxygen toxicity in the rat as a
result of a complex HBO exposure (6, 7).
Complex Exposures
For a complex exposure profile at toxic levels of oxygen, it can
be shown (APPENDIX A, Eqs. A2-A5) that the
cumulative oxygen toxicity indexes, either the parametric DMG or the
nonparametric K, follow simple algorithms. In a stepwise
exposure [a definite number of intervals (n), each having a
selected PO2
(PO2 i) and exposure duration
(ti)]
|
(3)
|
|
(4)
|
For an exposure in which there is a continuous change in
PO2 with time, the indexes are solved for their
integral forms
|
(5)
|
|
(6)
|
where tox is the exposure time at a toxic
level of oxygen.
Recovery Equations
The power equation, which was developed by using the
non-steady-state production of ROS, is valid in this toxic
PO2 range. We speculate that, below the toxic
level, there could be a neutral level (mostly undefined) at which
toxicity ceases to develop any further but at which there is still no
recovery either. Below this speculated neutral
PO2 range is the range in which recovery from
the toxic effect takes place. When the complex exposure also contains a
nontoxic PO2, it is possible to make a recovery calculation.
It has been suggested that recovery from oxygen toxicity in normoxia
follows an exponential function for both oxygen toxicity damage and for
all-or-none effects (3, 22)
|
(7)
|
and
|
(8)
|
where DMGt and Kt
are the values of the toxicity indexes at time t of the
recovery process, DMGe and Ke are
the values at the end of the hyperoxic exposure, and
is the
recovery time constant. Different manifestations of oxygen toxicity
will each have an appropriate time constant. This approach could well describe the recovery of the hypoxic ventilatory drive in rats and the
recovery of human VC (22, 13), and, together with the
power equation, it has been used successfully to predict recovery from
CNS oxygen toxicity in rats when intermittent exposure is used
(6).
 |
SELECTING THE PARAMETERS FOR HUMANS |
Because the basic processes of toxicity and recovery are common to
all mammals, the power equation and the recovery function can be
applied to humans with the appropriate parameters, a,
c, Kc, and
, and the variability
within each parameter. Two limits of oxygen toxicity are set for human
exposure: one related to pulmonary oxygen toxicity and expressed by the
reduction in VC, and the other for CNS oxygen toxicity.
Pulmonary Values
There are enough data to derive the parameters for pulmonary
oxygen toxicity in the equation DMG = a × t2(PO2/101.3)c.
From the data of Clark et al. (11, 12) and Eckenhoff et al. (13), the solved parameters using nonlinear regression
are a = 0.0082 and c = 4.57, where DMG
= %
VC (where
VC is the reduction in VC), time t is
expressed in hours, and PO2 in kPa. The mean data from those studies, together with the lines solved by the power
equation, are shown in Fig. 1. From the
data of Eckenhoff et al. (13) and Clark et al.
(12),
was 0.0128, 0.1047, 0.3740, and 0.5437 h
1 for PO2 values of 106, 152, 203, and 253 kPa, respectively. Recovery of VC, together with the lines
representing the exponential solution, is shown in Fig.
2. When the values obtained for
were
plotted as a function of the PO2 in the
preceding hyperoxic exposure, a linear relationship was obtained,
such that
=
0.420 + 0.00379 PO2
(Fig. 3). Therefore, the recovery of VC
will take the form
VC in absolute terms:
VCt =
VCe × e
(
0.42 + 0.00379 PO2)t. As with
DMGe in Eq. 7,
VCe is the
reduction in VC at the end of the hyperoxic exposure.

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Fig. 1.
Reduction of vital capacity ( VC) in humans as a
function of time (t) and PO2. Data
were taken from Clark et al. (11, 12) and Eckenhoff et al.
(13). The lines represent the solution of the power
equation.
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Fig. 2.
Recovery of human VC as a function of recovery time and
the previous PO2 exposure. Data were taken from
Clark et al. (12) and Eckenhoff et al. (13).
Recovery took place at a PO2 of 21 kPa, except
for the 106-kPa exposure in Eckenhoff et al., when the first 33 h
of the recovery process were at 50 kPa. Lines represent the solution of
the exponential recovery. Inset: recovery after exposure to
the three high PO2 values is shown.
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Fig. 3.
Time constant ( ) for the recovery of human VC,
calculated from the data presented in Fig. 2, as a function of
prerecovery PO2 exposure. The line represents
the linear regression solution.
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|
In developing our approach to recovery, we assumed that recovery
depends on the level of injury, regardless of the time and PO2 that caused this injury. This will be true
if identical injury levels have the same rate of recovery, irrespective
of how they were produced. It is not surprising, however, that the rate
of recovery depends on the PO2 that caused the
loss of VC. For the same decrement in VC, other symptoms differed.
Severity of pulmonary symptoms (chest pain, cough, chest tightness, and
dyspnea) was greater during exposure to 152 and 203 kPa than to 253 and
304 kPa, neutrophil count was greater after 152 kPa than after the 203-kPa exposure, and postexposure arterial PO2
during exercise dropped after exposure to 152 kPa but not after
exposure to 203 or 253 kPa (12). Thus, for the same
decrement in VC, the deleterious effects on the lung are related to the
pressure at which the insult occurred.
The US Navy recommended oxygen exposure limits that would result in a
2% change in VC and a maximum exposure expected to produce a 10%
decrement (20). Thus inserting
VC = 2% or
VC = 10% into the power equation will set the
PO2 and time limits, and the value of
t2(PO2/101.3)4.57
at a constant pressure or the cumulative value in a complex exposure should not exceed the values 244 and 1,220, respectively.
CNS Oxygen Toxicity Values
Background.
power equation and recovery.
For CNS oxygen toxicity, the data for convulsions in humans are
not sufficient for derivation of the parameters, and the parameters for
other models were derived from symptoms other than convulsions (17). We used our data from rats carefully acclimated to
the hyperbaric chamber in air, with the maintenance of thermoneutral conditions and a lack of CO2, to derive the parameters
c = 5.61 (SE = 0.35) and Kc = 5.36 × 106 (SE = 3.18 × 106)
(n = 290, PO2 range
456-810 kPa, data collected between 1994 and 1999). The mean data
and the line representing the prediction of the model are shown in Fig.
4. For the rat, the mean
= 0.31 min
1, and thus 95% recovery is achieved within 10 min
(6).

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Fig. 4.
Latency to central nervous system (CNS) oxygen toxicity
in the rat as a function of PO2. Mean
( ) and 2 SD (bars) are shown, together with the no. of
measurements. The line represents the power equation.
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|
MODULATORS OF CNS OXYGEN TOXICITY.
The two principal modulators affecting CNS oxygen toxicity are
metabolic rate and CO2 load (4, 5). The
quantification of these effects was recently studied by us in the rat.
We believe that this form of response is common to various mammals with
the appropriate parameters. If the power c does not change with
alterations in metabolic rate or CO2, these will be
reflected in Kc.
For the metabolic rate effect, CNS oxygen toxicity will develop faster
during exercise or when metabolic rate is elevated. This
metabolic rate-induced increase in the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity
probably involves other known factors, such as cold exposure and high
levels of thyroxine (4). We postulated that, at a constant
PO2, the latency to CNS oxygen toxicity
decreases linearly as CO2 production [or oxygen
consumption (
O2)] increases
(4) (Fig. 5,
right). It is possible to derive Kc
at rest (Kc0) and at an increased
metabolic rate (Kcex). From our
experiment, the latency to CNS oxygen toxicity t = A
B
O2. Inserting this relationship
into the power equation yields
(Kcex) = t2 PO
= (A
B
O2)2
PO
. Therefore the ratio
|
(9)
|
where
O2 ex and
O2 0 are
O2 at increased metabolic rate and at
rest, respectively. As metabolic rate increases,
Kc decreases, which means that the symptoms will
appear at a lower combination of time and oxygen pressure. We have
shown that both A and B are a function of
PO2 (4)
|
(10)
|
and
|
(11)
|
Therefore, both parameters A and B decrease
with the increase in PO2.

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Fig. 5.
Latency to CNS oxygen toxicity in the rat as a function of
PCO2 and PO2
(left) and as a function of CO2 production
( CO2) and PO2
(right). The exposure PO2 in kPa is
indicated next to the line by which it is represented.
|
|
For the CO2 effect, an increased level of CO2
in the inspired gas accelerates the development of CNS oxygen toxicity
in humans, as well as in other mammals such as the cat, the rat, and
the mouse (5). We have shown in rats that, at a
constant toxic PO2, latency to CNS oxygen
toxicity decreases linearly with the increase in inspired
PCO2, down to a latency level from which there
is no further reduction in latency with any further increase in
PCO2 (5) (Fig. 5,
left). At a constant toxic PO2 in
the PCO2-dependent range, t = C
D × PCO2.
Replacing t in the power equation will yield
= t2 PO
= (C
D × PCO2)2
PO
, where
is
Kc at elevated PCO2.
From this expression, the ratio of Kc at
elevated PCO2
(
) to
Kc at no CO2
(Kc0) is as follows
|
(12)
|
Kc decreases with the increase in inspired
CO2. Both C and D are a function of
PO2 (5)
|
(13)
|
and
|
(14)
|
Therefore, both parameters C and D decrease
with the increase in PO2. At higher
PCO2 values, when latency to CNS oxygen
toxicity is reduced but remains constant despite any further increase
in PCO2, it was found in rats that latency to
CNS oxygen toxicity t = eC3
D3 PO2. The ratio of
Kc at the maximal effect of CO2
(
) to Kc0 is
|
(15)
|
where the term on the left is always positive and lower
than 1.
VARIABILITY.
Our laboratory has shown that there is individual sensitivity to CNS
oxygen toxicity in the rat, so that the variability within the rat is
much less than the variability between rats (4-7). The prediction of CNS oxygen toxicity based on individual parameters proved superior to employing the group means (7). The
issue of individual sensitivity in humans has not been settled yet. Butler and Thalmann (10) suggested that there may be a
small number of divers sensitive to CNS oxygen toxicity, although
Harabin et al. (16) failed to prove this. However, there
are no studies in humans that can be compared with the rat data, which
provided clear evidence of individual sensitivity.
RECOVERY TIME CONSTANT IN HUMANS.
Because measurements were not made in any other mammals, it would only
be reasonable to guess that the use of body mass (BM) might provide us
with an approximate solution to the problem. The rate of various
physiological processes in mammals (19) is related to BM
to the power
0.25. Therefore, the time for 95% recovery in humans
should be
10(BMrat/BMhuman)
0.25 = 39 min, and
human =
rat
(BMhuman/BMrat)
0.25 = 0.079 min
1, where BMrat is rat BM,
BMhuman is human BM,
human is human
, and
rat is rat
. It is interesting to note that our
suggestion agrees with the "rule of thumb" used by Israeli combat
divers. Thus, for toxic exposures interspersed with periods of nontoxic PO2, the reduction in the value of K
can be evaluated by using the suggested time constant. Although this
time constant was derived from the value measured for the rat, no
better approach is available at present.
CNS parameters in humans.
The parameters for the power equation can be derived by using the
maximum likelihood method for censored observations (APPENDIX B). We extracted those data used by Harabin et al.
(17) for exposure to a constant
PO2 from all of the data in Harabin's collection (Ref. 14, p. 96-136, compiled
from eight different reports, mostly the work of Butler FK and Thalmann
ED). The data obtained were from 661 exposures with 3.6% CNS oxygen
toxicity symptoms as defined by Harabin et al. (17).
For comparison, we applied the same analysis of CNS oxygen toxicity to
our rat data. To the data (n = 290) used for derivation of the power equation parameters for rats, we added exposures to low
PO2 when only some rats experienced CNS oxygen
toxicity. Thus for a PO2 range of 253-810
kPa, the total data included 395 exposures with 73% CNS oxygen
toxicity. The parameters solved for the rat were c = 6.8 (SE = 0.2) and Kc = 6.7 ×107, P < 0.0001
2 for
both parameters. The power of PO2 with the data
for the 395 exposures, including the low PO2
values, was higher by 1.2 than the value calculated for the data for
the 290 exposures for the high PO2 values.
The parameters solved by using the model for human hyperbaric exposures
were c = 15.0 (SE = 1.8) and
Kc = 5.28 × 109
(P < 0.0001
2 for both parameters and
= 1.35). The risk for CNS oxygen toxicity was calculated by
using Eq. B3 in APPENDIX B for the normal distribution
|
(16)
|
The calculated risk is shown in Fig.
6 as a function of time and
PO2 at 1-m depth intervals.

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Fig. 6.
Percent risk of CNS oxygen toxicity as a function of time
and PO2. The parameters for the calculation
were derived from human hyperbaric exposures (14).
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|
We gathered reports of 2,039 closed-circuit oxygen dives from the
Israel Navy SEALS. The dives were active training fin dives in the
Mediterranean Sea throughout the year at water temperatures ranging
from 17 to 28°C. After each dive, the diver completed a form
reporting the dive profile and marked a list of symptoms, if any. We
measured 98% oxygen concentration in the inspired gas in samples taken
during the dives after a few purging procedures and a
O2 of 1.4 l/min. Mean depth was 4.2 ± 0.1 (SD) m, and duration was 109 ± 54 (SD) min. Although the
percentage of symptoms related to CNS oxygen toxicity in the diving
data (3.5%) was similar to that found for the hyperbaric experiments,
the maximum likelihood analysis did not yield significant results
[
2 for a slope of
c/2 vs.
ln(PO2) was not significant, P = 0.93]. This may be related to the low range of
PO2 (132-162 kPa) for the diving data
compared with the hyperbaric experiments (160-250 kPa). We,
therefore, took the data from the hyperbaric exposures together with
the diving data and applied the maximum likelihood method. The
parameters solved using the model for the combined data were
c = 6.8 (SE = 1.25) and Kc = 2.31×108 (P < 0.0001
2
for both parameters and
= 2.02). The calculation of
the normal distribution will now be
|
(17)
|
It is interesting that the same power c (6.8) was
solved for both rats and humans. This may be indicative of a similar process.
For each diving depth, we calculated the percentage of symptoms at 1-h
intervals. The percentage of dives with symptoms during the first hour
was added to that for the next hour, and so forth, for calculation of
the cumulative risk. This cumulative percentage of CNS oxygen
toxicity-related symptoms is shown in Fig.
7, represented by solid circles. We used
Eq. 16 (Fig. 7, open circles) and Eq. 17 (Fig. 7,
open squares) to calculate the risk. The calculated risk using the
parameters derived from the hyperbaric experiments is much lower than
the actual percentage of symptoms. Underestimation of the calculated
risk is also evident in the calculation using parameters from both
diving and hyperbaric exposures, but in this case the risk is
closer to the actual data.

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Fig. 7.
Percentage of symptoms related to CNS oxygen toxicity
( ) in diving as a function of time and
PO2. PO2 is shown in
the top left of each panel, and the no. of dives is shown in
the top right. , Risk calculated from the
parameters derived from hyperbaric exposures (exp); ,
risk calculated from the parameters derived from both hyperbaric
exposures and diving.
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|
The dives were active training dives, in which
O2 was ~1.4 l/min (8).
This
O2 is higher than that in the
hyperbaric experiments, in which 6 min of exercise (1.3 l
O2/min) were followed by 4 min of rest (17).
This protocol would yield a mean
O2 of
0.9 l/min. The weighted mean
O2 for both
diving and experimental data is 1.28 l O2/min. It is
possible that the three lines in each of the panels in Fig. 7 represent
the risk at three separate levels of
O2.
We used our model with the parameters derived from the hyperbaric
experiments and from diving and hyperbaric experiments taken together
to calculate the risk within the suggested limits of the United States
Navy Single PO2 Diving Limits (21)
(Fig. 8, Table 1). This calculated risk
is higher than the calculated risk of Harabin et al. (17),
mainly at 25 and 30 ft. When we calculated the time at which 5 or 10%
of the divers will experience symptoms related to CNS oxygen toxicity
(using both the parameters from the hyperbaric experiments and those
obtained from diving + hyperbaric experiments), the time was less
than the suggested limits for 25 and 30 ft.

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Fig. 8.
Percent risk of CNS oxygen toxicity as a function of time
and PO2. The parameters for the calculation
were derived from both hyperbaric experiments and diving.
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Two versions of the power equation describing CNS oxygen toxicity in
humans were 5.28 × 109 = t2
(PO2/101.3)15.0 for an
O2 of 0.9 l/min and 2.31 × 108 = t2(PO2/101.3)6.8
for an
O2 of 1.28 l/min. It is too soon
to use these two sets of data to derive the complete effect of
metabolic rate in humans (Eqs. 9-11), and there are no
data available that can be used to derive the effect of CO2
on CNS oxygen toxicity (Eqs. 12-15). Further studies
using larger mammals may help in the derivation of these expressions
using an allometric approach. Calculated limits were determined for the
symptoms suggested by Harabin et al. (17): nausea,
numbness, dizziness, twitching, hearing and visual disturbances, unconsciousness, and convulsion. However, if some of the milder symptoms, such as dizziness and nausea, are not taken into
consideration, the parameters of the power equation will be different.
Evidently, the data for humans are far from complete. Some of the
reported symptoms may not be related to CNS oxygen toxicity, and the
data for real diving were obtained only for the low range of toxic PO2.
In conclusion, the power equation is a simplified expression derived
from the principles of the ROS kinetics. The power equation for
cumulative oxygen toxicity and the exponential recovery successfully describe various phenomena of oxygen toxicity. We suggest the use of
these expressions to calculate the risk of pulmonary and CNS oxygen
toxicity in humans and the rate of recovery.
 |
APPENDIX A |
Calculation of Cumulative Oxygen Toxicity When
PO2 Is Not Constant
Using Eq. 1, let us assume in step 1 exposure for a time t1 to a partial pressure of
oxygen PO2 1. Then
Let us define t'1 as the time that
will produce the same damage as DMG1 but at a second
PO2, namely PO2 2.
Then
from which it follows that
|
(A1)
|
The damage after a second time interval
t2 will be
Replacing t'1 by its value in
Eq. A1, we obtain
The time t2T at
PO2 2 that will yield DMG2 is
The expressions
and
hold for n = 2. Let us assume that this is true
for n steps and prove that it is true for n + 1.
Let us define t'n as
the time at PO2 n+1 that will
produce DMGn. Then
from which it follows that
and
Thus
|
(A2)
|
For PO2 as a continuous function of
t, Eq. A2 yields
|
(A3)
|
For all-or-none effects, DMG should be replaced by K,
and the parameter a should be omitted, giving
|
(A4)
|
or
|
(A5)
|
 |
APPENDIX B |
Solution of the Parameters of the Power Equation
The power equation describes the increasing risk of CNS oxygen
toxicity as K approaches
|
(B1)
|
From the available data, in the ith individual
exposed to PO2 i, CNS
oxygen toxicity occurs at time ti. There are individuals in whom toxicity does not occur, so that
ti may be censored. Formally, the observations
are given in the following forms
|
(B2)
|
where yi = min(ti,
ci),
i = I(ti
ci),
and ci are the censor variables, and
i is the indicator showing whether the
observation is censored or not. The goal is to fit the censored data
(Eq. B2) to the model (Eq. B1).
Considering t as the response variable, one can write
Thus c and K can be estimated by using
parametric regression techniques for the survival data. The idea is
that
has some distribution f, where ln
ti can be censored. The likelihood function is
written as follows
Then l(c, Kc,
) or ln
l(c, Kc,
) is minimized over
c, Kc, and
numerically.
Distributions for Zi can be chosen from the following list: 1) Gausian, Zi ~ N(0,1); 2) smallest extreme value, if t has the smallest extreme value distribution, then
et has a Weibull distribution; and 3) logistic,
yields a closed form expression.
In our computations, we used the smallest extreme value distribution.
The results obtained are not so sensitive to the choice of f
from the above list.
The risk can then be calculated from the normal distribution
|
(B3)
|
where t is in minutes, and
PO2 is in kPa.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
The authors thank R. Lincoln for skillful editing and Y. Roth for
assistance with the mathematical formulation in APPENDIX A.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of
the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting
the views of the Israel Naval Medical Institute.
Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: R. Arieli, Israel Naval Medical Institute, POB 8040, Haifa 31080, Israel (E-mail: rarieli{at}netvision.net.il).
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. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 4 May 2001; accepted in final form 21 September 2001.
 |
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