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J Appl Physiol 92: 297-312, 2002;
8750-7587/02 $5.00
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Vol. 92, Issue 1, 297-312, January 2002

Regional VA, Q, and VA/Q during PLV: effects of nitroprusside and inhaled nitric oxide

R. Scott Harris1, Donna-Beth Willey-Courand2, C. Alvin Head3, Gaetano G. Galletti3, Daniel M. Call3, and José G. Venegas3

Departments of 1 Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit), 2 Pediatrics, and 3 Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114


    ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) with high-specific-weight perfluorocarbon liquids has been shown to improve oxygenation in acute lung injury, possibly by redistributing perfusion from dependent, injured regions to nondependent, less injured regions of the lung. Our hypothesis was that during PLV in normal lungs, a shift in perfusion away from dependent lung zones might, in part, be due to vasoconstriction that could be reversed by infusing sodium nitroprusside (NTP). In addition, delivering inhaled NO during PLV should improve gas exchange by further redistributing blood flow to well-ventilated lung regions. To examine this, we used a single transverse-slice positron emission tomography camera to image regional ventilation and perfusion at the level of the heart apex in six supine mechanically ventilated sheep during five conditions: control, PLV, PLV + NTP, and PLV + NO at 10 and 80 ppm. We found that PLV shifted perfusion from dependent to middle regions, and the dependent region demonstrated marked hypoventilation. The vertical distribution of perfusion changed little when high-dose intravenous NTP was added during PLV, and inhaled NO tended to shift perfusion toward better ventilated middle regions. We conclude that PLV shifts perfusion to the middle regions of the lung because of the high specific weight of perflubron rather than vasoconstriction.

sodium nitroprusside; positron emission tomography; partial liquid ventilation; ventilation; perfusion; alveolar ventilation


    INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

PARTIAL LIQUID VENTILATION (PLV) with perfluorocarbon fluids (6) has been proposed as a treatment for the acute respiratory distress syndrome. PLV has been shown to provide improved gas exchange (4, 10-13, 15-17, 24, 25, 27, 28, 33) in animal models of lung injury. Although several studies have attempted to identify the mechanisms responsible for the changes in global gas exchange caused by PLV in normal and acute respiratory distress syndrome lungs, little is known about the regional effects of PLV on the normal lung. Before understanding how PLV alters the ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) relationships in lung injury, it is critical to understand what happens in the normal lung.

Fuhrman et al. (6) showed a slight increase in shunt during PLV, with relative desaturation as the fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) dropped below 0.30. However, with blood gases alone, it is impossible to identify the regional alveolar ventilation (VA) and perfusion (Q) relationships that caused this decrease in oxygenation. Furthermore, in the setting of PLV, the shunt fraction calculated from the Berggren equation (2) may be unreliable, because the underlying assumption that the end-capillary blood is fully saturated with 100% inspired O2 in liquid-filled areas is questionable.

Multiple inert gas elimination technique (MIGET) during PLV of healthy piglets (19) showed an increase in VA/Q heterogeneity during PLV, which was independent of perflubron dose. Ventilation heterogeneity was found to be the major factor in this increase, but it was not possible to determine whether there was a predominance of high or low VA/Q during PLV. Furthermore, an increase in the Berggren shunt fraction was found in all animals. The authors speculated that this was a result of a combination of true shunt and diffusion limitation in perflubron-filled lung regions. Recently, fluorescent microspheres were used to examine the distribution of regional Q during PLV in healthy lambs (5). This study showed a redistribution of Q away from dependent regions with PLV, particularly in the hilar lung regions. These results were also supported using a similar technique in healthy pigs (21). None of these techniques was able to provide information regarding regional VA, and therefore the contributions to the shifts in Q between hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and the high specific weight of the perfluorocarbons remain unknown.

Our laboratory has described a method to quantify the anatomic distribution of VA, Q, and VA/Q by using positron emission tomography (PET) (20, 32). In this paper, we applied this method to characterize the regional changes VA/Q caused by PLV in the normal lung. In preliminary studies (35, 39), we observed that PLV caused a substantial upward shift in Q and a decrease in VA of dependent liquid-filled regions. We theorized that the upward shift in Q could be caused by buoyant forces resulting from the perfluorocarbon's high specific weight and by local HPV induced by the lower VA in dependent regions. In this paper, we sought to confirm our preliminary findings and to explore the mechanisms responsible for the observed changes in Q. We reasoned that if HPV was the dominant mechanism causing the upward shift in Q, then a global reduction of vascular tone with high-dose intravenous sodium nitroprusside (NTP) should reverse the shift in Q. In contrast, if buoyant forces were the dominant mechanism causing the upward shift in Q during PLV, the reduction of pulmonary vascular tone should result in no change in the distribution of Q or in a further upward shift as buoyancy forces became more dominant. Finally, we sought to determine the effects on regional Q of an inhaled pulmonary vasodilator (NO) and compare them with the intravenous NO donor (NTP).


    METHODS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

Experimental Setup

The experimental setup has been described in detail elsewhere (32). Briefly, the setup included a single-ring PET camera (PCR-1), a mechanical ventilator, and an infusion system. PCR-1 is a high-sensitivity stationary camera that is able to trigger image collection in synchrony with a signal from a mechanical ventilator. 13NN-labeled gas, produced by a cyclotron, was forced into solution with previously degassed saline, resulting in 13NN-labeled saline with specific activity ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 mCi/ml. The infusion system included a peristaltic pump and a remotely controlled solenoid valve system that allowed flushing with 13NN-labeled saline of the tubing leading to a right jugular venous line terminating in the superior vena cava.

Animal Preparation

The animal care committee of the Massachusetts General Hospital approved all protocols and procedures. Six sheep weighing 13.2 ± 0.9 (SD) kg (range 12-14 kg) were anesthetized with thiopental sodium (30 mg/kg) and maintained under deep anesthesia with a continuous infusion. A tracheotomy was performed for insertion of a 7.0 endotracheal tube. The ventilator (Harvard Apparatus, Millis, MA) was set at a breathing frequency of 10 breaths/min, the inspiratory time was set to 30% of the breathing period, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was set to 5 cmH2O, and FIO2 was 1.0. Tidal volume (VT) was set to maintain normocapnic arterial blood gases (mean VT = 21.1 ± 2.9 ml/kg, PCO2 = 42.5 ± 6.8 Torr). The right femoral artery and vein were cannulated for pressure monitoring, blood gas sampling, and administration of intravenous fluids and/or intravenous NTP. A 7.5-French pulmonary artery thermodilution catheter (Baxter Healthcare, Deerfield, IL) was inserted in the left femoral vein for measurement of cardiac output, pulmonary arterial pressure, central venous and wedge pressures, and mixed venous blood gases. A right jugular venous catheter was inserted to the superior vena cava for injection of the 13NN during PET imaging (see below). Pancuronium bromide was administered in 0.2 mg/kg intravenous doses as needed to prevent respiratory efforts after adequate sedation was achieved. Physiological data collection included heart rate, arterial and pulmonary blood pressures, cardiac output, wedge pressure, and arterial and venous blood gases. Oxygen saturation was calculated from the blood gases by using an oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve for sheep described by Sharan and Popel (29). Shunt fraction was calculated by use of the Berggren shunt equation.

PLV

Room temperature, nonpreoxygenated perflubron (C8F17Br; LiquiVent, Alliance Pharmaceutical, San Diego, CA) was instilled via the endotracheal tube. Perflubron doses (30 ± 7 ml/kg) were slowly poured into the airway over ~5 min, with breaths administered intermittently throughout the instillation. Dosing was complete when 30 ml/kg had been administered or a meniscus in the endotracheal tube was observed to be above the level of the trachea. The animal was rocked gently from side to side to facilitate even mixing within the lungs. Animals were ventilated for 20 min before imaging to ensure steady-state conditions.

PET Imaging

The animals were positioned in the camera for a transverse imaging slice that included the apex of the heart as determined by a short transmission scan. To correct for gamma ray energy attenuation caused by the supporting structures, body tissues, and perflubron during PLV, transmission scans were performed for each condition studied. An imaging run consisted of a transmission scan and a series of emission scans imaging the fate of the radioactive tracer of 13NN-labeled saline injected into the superior vena cava. Infusate volume ranged from 3 to 12 ml depending on the tracer's specific activity to produce PET images with equivalent number of counts/voxel.

The emission scans were collected in the following manner. First, the ventilator was interrupted at end exhalation to allow the lungs to reach functional residual capacity (FRC). Simultaneously, intravenous infusion of the tracer was started, and a collection of three consecutive 10-s images was initiated. At the end of collection of the third image, ventilation was resumed, and four consecutive 30-s images were collected as the tracer was washed out from the lung. These images were collected, and the transmission scans were gated by using a signal from the ventilator synchronized with the start of inhalation as described in detail elsewhere (32). The gating scheme yielded a set of two images for each scan, corresponding to the first and second halves of a respiratory cycle. Because inspiratory time of the ventilator was set at 30% of the breathing period, the first image included inspiration and most of expiration, whereas the second image mostly included the lung at FRC.

Protocol

Imaging runs were performed for each of five experimental conditions: 1) control gas ventilation (GV), 2) PLV with ~30 ml/kg of perflubron, 3) PLV during infusion of 320 µg/min intravenous NTP, 4) PLV with 10 ppm inhaled NO, and 5) PLV with 80 ppm inhaled NO. All conditions used an FIO2 of 1.0 except those cases that included addition of NO, in which the addition of a small flow of 800 ppm NO reduced the FIO2 slightly (i.e., FIO2 0.90 at 80 ppm NO and FIO2 0.98 at 10 ppm NO). The NO gas was mixed at the fresh gas intake of the ventilator, and its concentration was confirmed with an NO analyzer. After the first two conditions, the order of the remaining three conditions was randomly selected for each animal. Between imaging runs with NTP and NO, the animals were allowed to return to PLV control conditions, as evidenced by the return of mean arterial and pulmonary arterial pressures to within 10 percent of baseline values. Before each imaging run and the corresponding collection of physiological data, the lungs were inflated and sustained for 20 s at a pressure of 30-40 cmH2O to minimize the occurrence of microatelectasis and the loss of compliance. The animal was then allowed to reach a steady state (~10 min) before the initiation of the corresponding run.

PET Image Analysis

PET images were initially corrected for camera sensitivity and for tissue attenuation. Image reconstruction was then performed with a convolution back-projection algorithm by using a Hanning filter yielding an effective spatial resolution of 10 mm. Images collected during the apnea period at FRC were reconstructed by using the second of the gated transmission scans, and images collected during the breathing washout period were reconstructed by using the sum of the two gated transmission scans. Resulting images consisted of an interpolated matrix of 159 × 159 voxels of 0.2 × 0.2 cm corresponding to a transverse slice of 5-mm thickness. Reconstructed images of local counts per voxel were then processed as discussed below to yield functional images of Q, VA, VA/Q, and lung density.

Masking. For each animal, masks defining the lung field at FRC were created by applying a semiautomatic threshold algorithm to a template made as the sum of all emission scans collected during the breath-hold period. The algorithm assigned a value of unity to voxels within the lung field and a value of zero to voxels outside the lung field. Masks were manually refined by comparing them with the second image of the gated transmission scans. The lung masks were then divided into 1-cm-high horizontal regions of interest (ROIs) starting from the most dependent lung region. The most nondependent ROI often had a vertical height much less than 1 cm and was not considered if it contained less than 80 voxels. This yielded 12 ROIs (Fig. 1) that were used to assess the vertical variation of Q, VA, VA/Q, and gas content as described below.


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Fig. 1.   Example of positron emission tomography (PET) images and 13NN tracer kinetics for 1 sheep during control and partial liquid ventilation (PLV) conditions. Images on left demonstrate the regional 13NN activity at the end of the breath-hold period. Activity is proportional to regional perfusion. Lighter color corresponds to higher activity and therefore higher perfusion. On right are tracer kinetics data for 3 of the 12 regions of interest (ROIs) (1, 6, and 12) showing relative 13NN activity vs. time. Dotted vertical line indicates the end of the breath hold and the beginning of ventilation. As can be seen from these graphs, activity rises to a peak during the breath hold and then decreases exponentially as the tracer is washed out during ventilation. During breath hold, the peak activity is proportional to regional perfusion (Q). The time constant for the washout is inversely proportional to regional alveolar ventilation (VA). The perfusion images were constructed by adding the 2nd and 3rd images (corresponding to the 2nd and 3rd points of the tracer kinetics data) to lessen the effects of noise. As can be seen from both the images and tracer kinetics data, there is a gradient of perfusion during control conditions, with the highest perfusion occurring in the dependent ROI. During PLV, the highest perfusion occurs in the middle ROI. The tracer kinetics also show the marked decrease in ventilation in the dependent ROI during PLV (shown by the slower decay of activity of 13NN during ventilation).

Perfusion. Because of the very low partition coefficient for nitrogen (lambda  = 0.018) between gas and water (or blood), on arrival to the capillary bed the tracer 13NN diffuses almost completely into the alveolar airspace at first pass and remains there during apnea until ventilation is resumed. Thus, after the period of arrival, regional tracer content is directly proportional to Q. In this protocol, Q was calculated from the sum of second and third images collected during the apnea period. Average perfusion per voxel for each 1-cm-high ROI was calculated and then normalized by the average perfusion per voxel of the whole lung field.

Ventilation. Images were corrected for radioactive tracer decay back to the time of bolus infusion. Regional specific alveolar ventilation for each voxel was defined as the inverse of the exponential time constant (tau wo) of tracer removal during the washout as
&tgr;<SUB>wo</SUB><IT>=</IT>ln (WO<SUB>1</SUB>)<IT>−</IT>ln (WO<SUB>2</SUB>) (1)
where WO1 and WO2 are the tracer content of the first and second washout images, respectively. Images of perfusion-ventilation ratio Q/VA were created by adding voxel by voxel the tracer content during the four images collected during the washout, which approximates a perfusion-weighted perfusion-ventilation ratio.

Fractional gas content. The transmission scans were processed to calculate fractional gas content within the lung field. As described above, a gated transmission scan yielded two images: the first image corresponded to the average local density during inhalation and the first second of exhalation, and the second image corresponded to the average local density during the last 3 s of exhalation when the lungs were mostly at FRC. The sum of these two images is proportional to the average local density during the entire breathing cycle. By using this information, it was possible to compare the average regional gas content over the breathing cycle with that at FRC for both gas and PLV as described in the APPENDIX.

VA/Q analysis. A global lung VA was estimated from the VT and frequency by assuming an anatomic dead space based on body weight (31). Global VA/Q ratio for the total lung was calculated by dividing the estimated global VA by the measured thermodilution cardiac output. Two types of plots were generated from the PET images to analyze the matching between VA and Q: voxel-by-voxel scatter plots of mean-normalized VA vs. mean-normalized Q, and log(VA/Q) distribution histograms. Voxel values of VA and Q were obtained from the corresponding images described above. Outliers were removed from the data sets by eliminating any voxel with negative ventilation, with perfusion greater than four times the mean, or with a log(VA/Q) value that fell outside of three standard deviations from the mean. This process left intact 96.8 ± 0.4% SE of the data that were mean renormalized and plotted as mean-normalized VA vs. mean-normalized Q. From these plots, the Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient (rho ), the variance of ventilation (sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>), the variance of perfusion (sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>), and the variance of VA/Q (sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>) were calculated. In addition, plots of mean-normalized log(VA) vs. mean normalized log(Q) allowed calculation of the same variables for the logged data. Variance in the VA/Q distributions were also assessed using an equation derived by Wilson and Beck (40), where VA/Q, VA, and Q are measured according to the following equation
&sfgr;<SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC><IT>/</IT><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP><IT>=&sfgr;</IT><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP><IT>+&sfgr;</IT><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP><IT>−</IT>2<IT>&rgr;&sfgr;</IT><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><IT>&sfgr;</IT><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB> (2)
To create histograms, similar to those from MIGET (36), mean-normalized VA/Q values were obtained by dividing voxel by voxel the image of VA by that of Q. VA/Q values ranging from 0.01 to 100 were grouped into 50 bins of equal width. For each voxel, the fraction of total imaged Q, VA, or volume (V) was added to the corresponding bin of VA/Q for that voxel. This resulted in histograms of VA/Q grouped by perfusion, ventilation, or lung volume (within the image slice), each having a total area of 1. These plots differ from those by Wagner et al. (36) in that the first and last bins are not shunt and dead space, but VA/Q ratios of 0.01 and 100, respectively, because we did not directly measure shunt and dead space with this method. From these histograms, the standard deviations of the VA/Q grouped by perfusion [SDlog(VA/Q),Q], ventilation [SDlog(VA/Q),VA], and lung volume [SDlog(VA/Q),V] were calculated.

Statistical Analysis

The Student's two-tailed t-test for dependent samples was used to determine significant changes in physiological data and PET data. Four comparisons were made: PLV vs. control, PLV + NTP vs. PLV, PLV + NO at 10 ppm vs. PLV, and PLV + NO at 80 ppm vs. PLV. Statistical significance was defined by P < 0.05. The Bonferroni adjustment was also applied to reduce the inflation of type I error caused by multiple comparisons. Significance after the Bonferroni adjustment was defined by P < 0.0125. For a sample size of 6, there is 80% power to detect a standardized effect of 2.005 using a paired t-test with a 0.0125 two-sided significance level. For the few comparisons with sample sizes of five and four, the standardized effect increases to 2.477 and 3.448, respectively. Data are expressed as means ± SD unless otherwise noted. Statistical analysis was performed using STATISTICA '98 edition (StatSoft, Tulsa, OK).


    RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

Global Physiological Parameters

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) did not change significantly during PLV compared with control or with PLV + NO at 10 or 80 ppm compared with PLV. However, the infusion of NTP during PLV significantly decreased MAP compared with PLV (Table 1). Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) increased during PLV compared with control. When NTP or NO was added to PLV, MPAP decreased significantly in all cases compared with PLV. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure dropped significantly with PLV + NTP or PLV + NO at 80 ppm compared with PLV. Peak inspiratory pressure rose by a mean of 5 cmH2O during PLV, and this was unchanged by the addition of NTP or NO at 10 or 80 ppm. There was a significant decrease in arterial PO2 (mean 47%) to 222 Torr during PLV. PLV + NO at 10 ppm increased arterial PO2 significantly to 334 Torr. Mixed venous PCO2 was significantly lower during PLV + NTP or PLV + NO at 10 ppm compared with PLV alone. Calculated Berggren shunt fraction was significantly greater during PLV than control. Shunt fraction decreased significantly compared with PLV in both NO conditions. Estimated global VA/Q was near 1 except for PLV + NTP and PLV + NO 80 ppm, where the possible corresponding nonsignificant increases in cardiac output caused whole lung VA/Q to fall in both conditions. However, VA/Q did not reach statistical significance in either condition compared with PLV alone. All other physiological variables did not show significant differences when compared with either control or PLV conditions.

                              
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Table 1.   Physiological variables

Regional Distribution of Q, VA, and VA/Q During the Control Condition (GV)

In the control condition, regional Q demonstrated clear vertical gradients in the individual sheep images (Fig. 2, row 1). Local distributions of VA/Q are visually different in each sheep (Fig. 3, row 1), with some sheep demonstrating very homogeneous VA/Q (sheep 1 and 6) and others (sheep 4 and 5) showing preexisting heterogeneity of VA/Q. Despite this appearance, when plotted vs. vertical height, relative VA/Q was close to unity in all sheep for most ROIs except for some of the most nondependent ones, where the ratio often deviated substantially in the positive or negative directions (Fig. 6, row 1). To quantify the magnitude of the changes in the vertical axis, we analyzed the Q, VA, and gas content images in 1-cm-high horizontal ROIs and plotted the mean values for all six sheep (Fig. 4). In control conditions (Fig. 4A), relative Q and VA showed clear vertical gradients, increasing monotonically from ROI 12 (nondependent, ventral) to ROI 2 (dependent, dorsal) with a small drop in both Q and VA in ROI 1. The vertical gradients were 17%/cm for Q and 14%/cm for VA. Fractional gas content decreased consistently from nondependent to dependent ROIs, with values ranging from 0.5 to 0.6 in the nondependent zones and 0.0 to 0.3 in the dependent zones. There was very little difference in fractional gas content between the sum of the two gated images and second gated image of gas content during control GV (see Fig. 4A).


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Fig. 2.   Perfusion images for the 6 sheep (1-6) during 2 of the 5 conditions: control and PLV. These images were obtained by adding the 2nd and 3rd 10-s image collections while the ventilator was interrupted at functional residual capacity (FRC). Black represents no perfusion; white represents the highest perfusion.



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Fig. 3.   Images of VA-Q ratio (VA/Q) for the 6 sheep (1-6) during 2 of the 5 conditions: control and PLV. These images were obtained by summing the 4 30-s image collections during the washout period (when the ventilator was restarted). In these images, black represents high VA/Q and white represents low VA/Q.



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Fig. 4.   Mean relative (Rel) perfusion (Q), ventilation (VA), and gas content for the 6 sheep during 2 of the 5 conditions: control (A) and PLV (B). The 12 ROIs are shown on the y-axis and relative Q, VA, or gas content on the x-axis. Relative Q is shown by the thick solid black line, relative VA by the thick light line, relative gas content at FRC by the thick dotted line and relative gas content at mean lung volume (MLV) by the thin solid line. Rather than discrete points for each ROI, a smooth line (cubic spline fitted to the 12 data points) is shown for clarity. Standard error bars are shown for the 12 data points for each variable.

During GV, there was good correlation between local values of VA and Q, yielding a mean value of rho VAvs.Q for all sheep of 0.863 ± 0.025 (See Table 3). Correlation plots for a representative sheep (sheep 5) are shown graphically in Fig. 7. The variance of VA/Q (sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>) was significantly lower in GV than during PLV (See Table 3). The low sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> was due to a high correlation between VA and Q during GV that decreased during PLV. The good correlation between VA and Q during GV resulted in relatively narrow distributions of VA/Q grouped by VA [SDlog(VA/Q,VA)= 0.179 ± 0.015], by Q [SDlog(VA/Q,QA) = 0.168 ± 0.010], or by organ volume [SDlog(VA/Q,V) = 0.193 ± 0.018] (see Table 3). This is illustrated graphically for sheep 5 in Fig. 8. Although with substantially different values, equivalent parameters calculated for the log-transformed data followed a similar pattern to the nontransformed data (see Table 3). The calculated standard deviation of the VA/Q histograms, grouped by perfusion, ventilation, or organ volume, showed similar changes to those of sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> (see Table 3).

Regional Distribution of Q, VA, and VA/Q During PLV

Regional distribution of local Q consistently shifted away from the most dependent lung regions toward middle zones during PLV (Fig. 2, row 2). This shift was of variable magnitude and was best demonstrated in sheep 1. Despite the reduction in relative Q in the dependent regions, there was a clear localized area of low VA/Q in the most dependent regions in the images (Fig. 3, row 2). The magnitude of these changes is demonstrated when plotted against vertical height (Fig. 4). PLV shifted Q away from the bottom third of the lung toward the middle ROIs (Fig. 4B). A similar but stronger shift occurred in VA, leading to a substantial reduction in relative VA in the bottom third of the lung. Fractional gas content decreased substantially in PLV in all but the most nondependent ROI, becoming negligible in the three most depended ROIs. In contrast to GV, during PLV there was a measurable difference in the fractional gas content between the sum of the two gated images [mean lung volume (MLV)], yielding a higher fractional gas content in middle ROIs than that collected during the last 2 s of exhalation (close to FRC).

To illustrate the individual regional changes in Q caused by PLV, NTP, and NO, they are plotted in Fig. 5 for each animal. The shift in relative Q during PLV compared with control is substantial (Fig. 5, row 1). This amounted to an increase of 2 and 11% in the nondependent and middle regions, respectively, and a decrease of 13% in the dependent region (Table 2). Relative VA changed similarly but more considerably. There was an increase of 8 and 17% in the nondependent and middle regions, respectively, and a decrease of 24% in the dependent region (Table 2). The changes in VA and Q from control to PLV were statistically significant except for the increase in Q in the nondependent zone. The vertical distribution of relative VA/Q was also substantially affected by PLV (Fig. 6). PLV caused a systematic decrease in relative VA/Q of dependent ROIs and a concomitant increase in nondependent ones. Relative VA/Q crossed from less than unity to greater than unity in four animals above 4 cm from the most nondependent lung, and in the other two animals it crossed above 2 cm (Fig. 6, row 2).


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Fig. 5.   Difference in relative Q between PLV and control or vasodilators plus PLV and PLV for the 6 sheep (1-6). All graphs are ROI vs. difference in relative Q (shown in figure as Relative Q or Rel Q), and difference in relative Q is a solid black line formed by fitting a cubic spline through the 12 data points. PLV-control, PLV minus control; (PLV + NTP)-PLV, PLV and intravenous NTP minus PLV; (PLV + NO 10 ppm)-PLV, PLV and NO at 10 ppm minus PLV; (PLV + NO 80 ppm)-PLV, PLV and NO at 80 ppm minus PLV. Sheep 1 was not studied with PLV + NO 10 ppm.


                              
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Table 2.   Change in perfusion and ventilation



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Fig. 6.   Relative VA/Q (shown in figure as Relative V/Q) for the 6 sheep (1-6) during each of the 5 conditions: control, PLV, PLV + NTP, PLV plus NO at 10 ppm (PLV + NO 10 ppm), and PLV plus NO at 80 ppm (PLV + NO 80 ppm). All graphs are ROI vs. relative VA/Q. VA/Q is the solid black line formed by fitting a cubic spline through the 12 data points. Sheep 1 was not studied with PLV + NO 10 ppm.

The dispersion of local Q decreased in relation to control (sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> decreased from 0.453 ± 0.144 to 0.320 ± 0.115), but its correlation with VA worsened to a mean value of rho VAvs.Q = 0.478 ± 0.134 such that sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> worsened compared with GV (Table 3). The example sheep in Fig. 7 demonstrates graphically the loss in correlation of VA and Q. The VA/Q distribution widened substantially during PLV [SDlog(VA/Q),VA= 0.255 ± 0.034, SDlog(VA/Q),Q = 0.272 ± 0.046 and SDlog(VA/Q),V = 0.305 ± 0.056, Table 3 and Fig. 8].

                              
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Table 3.   Heterogeneity of VA, Q, and VA/Q



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Fig. 7.   Mean-normalized ventilation vs. mean-normalized perfusion for sheep 5 for all 5 conditions: control (A), PLV (B), PLV + NTP (C), PLV + NO 10 ppm (D), and PLV + NO 80 ppm (E). Each point represents a VA-Q pair for a single voxel.



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Fig. 8.   Mean VA/Q (shown in figure as Mean-Normalized V/Q) histograms for all 6 sheep for all 5 conditions: control (A), PLV (B), PLV + NTP (C), PLV + NO 10 ppm (D), and PLV + NO 80 ppm (E). Each plot is fraction of the total VA (open circle ) or Q () vs. mean-normalized VA/Q. A cubic spline was fitted to the data points (solid black line). Insets show standard error for perfusion (left) and ventilation (right). X/Xtot, fraction of total VA or Q.

Regional Distribution of Q, VA, and VA/Q During PLV + NTP

Changes in perfusion caused by NTP were subtle and not easily seen by visual inspection of the corresponding images (not shown). The changes in VA, Q, and fractional gas content were of lesser magnitude and more heterogeneous when either NTP or NO was added to PLV, and therefore the averages for these conditions are not shown. The individual changes for each sheep in relative Q are shown in Fig. 5, row 2. Sheep 1, 2, and 6 demonstrated an increase in relative Q in dependent regions and a concomitant drop in middle regions. In contrast, sheep 3 and 4 decreased Q to dependent and nondependent ROIs, shifting it to middle ROIs, whereas sheep 5 had virtually no vertical redistribution in Q. Because the changes in VA and Q were small, there was little change in relative VA/Q (Fig. 6, row 3). The distributions of VA/Q systematically narrowed with NTP [SDlog(VA/Q),VA = 0.210 ± 0.034, SDlog(VA/Q),Q = 0.228 ± 0.066, and SDlog(VA/Q),V = 0.256 ± 0.069, Table 3 and Fig. 7]. The significant improvement in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> with NTP was accompanied by a decrease in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and an increase in rho VAvs.Q, although these changes individually did not reach significance.

Regional Distribution of Q, VA, and VA/Q During PLV + NO

Changes in perfusion caused by inhaled NO were subtle and not easily seen (images not shown). The effect of inhaled NO at both 10 and 80 ppm during PLV was more consistent than that of NTP among animals and showed a systematic shift in Q away from the most dependent zones toward middle ones of the lung (Fig. 5, rows 3 and 4). For NO at 10 ppm, this amounted to an increase in relative Q of ~5% in the middle ROIs (Table 2). For NO at 80 ppm, the shift resulted in an increase in relative Q of 4% in the middle ROIs (Table 2). Inhalation of NO at 10 ppm during PLV caused a modest but consistent improvement in vertical VA/Q matching compared with PLV particularly seen by a shift of VA/Q toward unity in the most dependent ROIs (Fig. 6, row 4). The same was true for NO at 80 ppm (Fig. 6, row 5). There was little change in rho VAvs.Q by addition of NO at 10 ppm or 80 ppm (Table 3 and Fig. 7) to PLV. There was a significant improvement in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> with PLV + NO 10 ppm compared with PLV and a significant increase in sigma <UP><SUB>log<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> compared with PLV. There was little change in the distributions of VA/Q with NO at 10 and 80 ppm (Table 3).


    DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

To understand the mechanisms responsible for improved oxygenation during PLV in injured lungs, we felt that it was important to understand the effects of PLV in normal lungs. The major experimental findings of this study in healthy mechanically ventilated sheep were as follows: 1) during GV there were vertical gradients of local Q and VA, with increasing values in the gravitational direction. There was a high degree of spatial correlation between these variables and narrow VA/Q distributions. 2) During PLV, Q and VA shifted away from dependent regions toward middle regions of the lung. In the most dependent regions, the drop in VA was much greater than that in Q, generating areas of very low VA/Q. The correlation between local VA and Q decreased, and there was a concomitant widening of the VA/Q distributions. 3) Intravenous infusion of high-dose NTP during PLV caused a decrease in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and narrowed the VA/Q distributions. 4) Inhaled NO at 10 ppm during PLV decreased sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>. 5) Inhaled NO at 80 ppm during PLV caused a lesser decrease in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> than that with 10 ppm, but this change did achieve statistical significance.

Limitations of Methods

Before discussing these results, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of our methods. We used a single-slice PET camera to obtain a transverse image of the lungs at the level of the cardiac apex. Therefore, one must be careful in extrapolating the results obtained from this slice to all regions of the lung. However, because we used healthy animals in this study, potential regional nonuniformities along the rostral-caudal axis can be expected to be minor. Gravitational effects caused by the high specific weight of perflubron can be expected to be similar along the rostral-caudal axis. Other effects, such as vasodilation from NTP or inhaled NO, however, may not be as predictable.

We attempted to minimize carryover effects of either NTP or inhaled NO by waiting 20 min between conditions and until baseline physiological measurements returned to within 10% of their baseline values. We cannot be certain, however, that residual local vasodilatory effects were not present despite normal global physiological variables. However, we randomized the order of the last three conditions to minimize the potential systematic changes in VA, Q, and VA/Q that might result from this effect.

We cannot be certain that NTP completely relaxed pulmonary vasomotor tone. We performed pilot studies with 15% hypoxia and demonstrated complete return of MPAP back to baseline values at the dose of NTP used in this study. We must acknowledge that this does not prove that regional Q returned to normal. In fact, cardiac output usually increases with NTP, and because of nonlinear pressure-flow relationships, it is likely that conditions are different with NTP + hypoxia than in control. We believe that these differences are likely to be small compared with the dramatic changes in Q during PLV, such that if HPV were largely responsible for the shift in perfusion, high-dose NTP should measurably change the pattern of Q.

We imaged with PET the local concentrations of the tracer 13NN to measure the distributions of VA, Q, and VA/Q. Details of this technique can be found elsewhere (20, 32). The feasibility of these measurements depends on a low partition coefficient (lambda  = 0.018) for nitrogen between blood and alveolar air spaces. As a result, virtually all injected 13NN diffuses into the air spaces at first pass and remains there during breath hold. Although the partition coefficient for blood/perflubron (lambda  = 0.043) is higher than that for blood/air, it is still sufficiently low to provide an adequate assessment of gas exchange.

The PET camera used has a limited spatial resolution of ~10 mm. Therefore, heterogeneity in VA, Q, and VA/Q occurring below this length scale could not be assessed. However, the mean value of tracer activity within this region is highly accurate. Because we delivered the 13NN intravenously, the initial concentration of the tracer before the washout depends on regional Q: units receiving very low Q will have little initial activity. Therefore the measurement of regional VA reflects exclusively gas transport of perfused units and excludes the ventilation of dead space units.

GV

As in a previous report using PET of blood flow distribution on supine dog lungs (32), we found a significant vertical gradient in lung perfusion in these supine sheep (Fig. 4A). The magnitude of the vertical gradient (17%/cm) was similar to the gradient reported in our laboratory with the same technique for dogs (15%/cm) (32). This number is higher than the vertical gradients of 7.2%/cm (38) in one study and 7.8%/cm (37) in another using fluorescent microspheres in sheep breathing room air with no PEEP. The differences in these gradients compared with ours may be due to methodological differences between PET and the microspheres method or due to differences in FIO2 or PEEP. We do not believe that the difference in gradient was caused by methodology because a recent comparison of both methods in the same animal yielded equivalent results (34). A PEEP of 5 cmH2O in the former microsphere study by Walther et al. (37) caused the vertical gradient to increase to 10.4%/cm. Thus part of the difference between our results and the microsphere data is likely due to our use of PEEP to prevent dependent microatelectasis. The remaining difference may be due to our use of a higher FIO2 because an FIO2 of 1.0 should cause relaxation of vascular tone, thus potentiating gravitational gradients. A previous study comparing the distribution of Q between supine and prone dogs has suggested that, in lungs with minimal pulmonary arterial tone (ventilated with FIO2 = 1), the effects of gravity and lung structure are balanced out for the prone position but become additive in the supine position, resulting in substantial vertical gradients (32). Ventilation with room air may have globally increased basal pulmonary arterial tone and thus uniformly increasing the contribution of regional vascular resistance to Q distribution decreasing the relative importance of the vertical direction to heterogeneity measured supine. It is also likely that the mechanical ventilation of supine animals without PEEP used in those studies may have potentiated the formation of dependent atelectasis causing hypoxic vasoconstriction and thus reducing the magnitude of the vertical gradient. Vertical gradients of 6%/cm and 7%/cm have been reported for supine mechanically ventilated primates (8) and dogs (1, 9), respectively, also using fluorescent microspheres. The reasons for the discrepancy in vertical gradients are most likely similar to those mentioned above. We do not think that species differences are responsible because of the small variation in vertical gradients between the species studied with each method (sheep = dogs in PET, and dogs = primates in microspheres).

Visually, it is clear that the vertical dependence in blood flow was much greater in magnitude than any isogravitational variability seen in the single-slice PET images (Fig. 2, row 1). We cannot, however, comment on the rostral-caudal gradient in this study. Doctor et al. (5), using radiolabeled microspheres in supine lambs (conventional GV), found substantial vertical gradients in regional Q with flow favoring dependent lung zones in all slices except for the diaphragmatic region, where no gradient was observed. The lack of PEEP in that protocol may have been responsible for that finding, as discussed above.

During GV, we also observed a vertical gradient in VA favoring the dependent regions (14%/cm) but of lower magnitude than that corresponding gradient for Q (Fig. 4). As a result, there was a small gradient in VA/Q with values increasing from dependent to nondependent zones (Fig. 6, row 1). In addition, there were two animals (Fig. 6, row 1, sheep 1 and 4) that had a low VA/Q region in the most nondependent zone. These areas, however, should have had little effect on overall gas exchange because of the low relative Q reaching that zone. The vertical gradient in VA was somewhat greater than the vertical gradient of 9%/cm previously reported for supine dogs (32) and may have been caused by species differences in airway structure or bronchial smooth muscle tone.

Heterogeneity of VA and Q during GV in this study was higher than previously estimated by others. Wilson and Beck (40) estimated a value of 0.07 for sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and 0.2 for sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>, similar to a previous PET study using dogs in the supine position of 0.06 and 0.22, respectively (32). Our values of 0.21 and 0.45 for sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>, respectively, may have been higher because of species differences. The sheep is known to have lower collateral ventilation than the dog that might have reduced the dog's heterogeneity in ventilation. Mure et al. (22), using microspheres, found a much higher sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> in pigs (2.39 and 1.77, respectively), which are known to lack collateral ventilation (14). These values, however, were derived from diced lung data that included a large variability in piece size, an effect that was not estimated.

The correlation (rho VAvs.Q) between VA and Q in our study was high (0.86) and similar to 0.81 from our previous study in dogs (32). Wilson and Beck (40) did not estimate the correlation between VA and Q, because simultaneous measurements of these variables were not available at that time. Mure et al. (22) found rho VAvs.Q to be 0.76 in the supine position when using the fluorescent microspheres technique in pigs. However, because microsphere data for both VA and Q are expected to be equally affected by heterogeneity in piece size in that study, the overestimation of rho VAvs.Q caused by the induced pseudocorrelation between these variables was not calculated.

Wilson and Beck (40) proposed a theoretical model to estimate sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> (Eq. 2) in terms of the values of sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and their spatial correlation, rho VAvs.Q. Using this model, we found that the estimated value of sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> was systematically lower than the value calculated directly from the voxel-by-voxel VA/Q values. This was to be expected because Eq. 2 is only exact when VA and Q data are log-transformed or sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> were small enough to make sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> approx  log(sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>). In fact, sigma <UP><SUB>log(<A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A>)</SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> calculated with Eq. 2 from log-transformed data was identical to the value obtained from the voxel-by-voxel log(VA/Q) data, 0.030 (Table 3). Values of sigma <UP><SUB>log(<A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a)</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>, sigma <UP><SUB>log(<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A>)</SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>, rho log(VA)vs.log(Q), and sigma <UP><SUB>log(<A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A>)</SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> are shown in Table 3 to demonstrate this point. Our value of sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> on the nontransformed data was 0.198, similar to our previous reported 0.12 for dogs and close to the value of 0.2 estimated by Wilson and Beck (40). These values are much lower than the value of 1.33 obtained by Mure et al. (22) using microspheres in pigs. The reasons for the differences probably are similar to those for sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>, previously mentioned.

Our values for SDlog(VA/Q),Q and SDlog(VA/Q),VA should be similar to measurements of VA/Q heterogeneity obtained with MIGET. A previous report using MIGET in sheep found values of 0.76 and 1.4 for SDlog(VA/Q),Q and SDlog(VA/Q),VA, respectively (30). A study using MIGET in pigs found higher values of 1.03 and 1.31 for SDlog(VA/Q),Q and SDlog(VA/Q),VA, respectively (23). Our values during GV were substantially less (Table 3). Differences may be due to species differences (in the latter case) or methodological differences between MIGET and PET. Also, our values may be much lower because we imaged only one slice of the lungs, whereas MIGET measures VA/Q heterogeneity of the whole lung. There are no data in the literature to compare with SDlog(VA/Q),V (Table 3), but its value should be similar in magnitude to SDlog(VA/Q),Q and SDlog(VA/Q),VA, because they are the same data, but grouped by different variables (perfusion, ventilation, or organ volume).

PLV

During PLV, the vertical dependence of Q and VA changed from monotonically increasing in the direction of gravity to increasing first to a maximum and then decreasing in the most dependent ROIs (Fig. 4B). In these dependent ROIs, VA decreased more than Q, resulting in a zone of low VA/Q (Fig. 4B and Fig. 6, row 2). From our data, we cannot ascertain whether this local hypoventilation was the stimulus for the local drop in Q or vice versa. However, it is interesting that the matching of ventilation to perfusion did not achieve nearly the same efficiency as control conditions, despite the fact that the lungs were otherwise healthy. This could have been because the presence of perflubron decreased gas exchange to a higher degree than hypoxic vasoconstriction could have shifted perfusion away. Or, alternatively, the direct mechanical effect of the heavy perflubron liquid may have shifted Q away from dependent regions, whereas active hypocapnic pneumoconstriction could have overcompensated this effect (see Effect of NTP). The study by Doctor et al. (5), using fluorescent microspheres, had somewhat different results. In the region closest to where we imaged (near the cardiac apex), they noted a shift in perfusion away from dependent regions, but this shift resulted in a progressive increase in flow from dependent to nondependent lung. Interestingly, in a more caudal slice, they did observe a pattern of blood flow distribution similar to ours. They also noted a favoring of flow toward the more rostral slices during PLV. This difference may be a result of differences in the tilt of the lungs when they are sliced ex vivo compared with the natural position of the lungs in vivo during PET imaging.

Our data showed that sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> increased significantly with PLV, with a reduction in correlation between VA and Q (Table 3). The drop in correlation was so important that sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> increased in spite of a decrease in the sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP>. The decrease in variance of Q is intriguing and is probably due to the reduction in the total vertical gradient in Q. As expected, changes in SDlog(VA/Q),VA, SDlog(VA/Q),Q, and SDlog(VA/Q),V tracked changes in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> for all conditions. Mates et al. (19) used MIGET during PLV in pigs and found that VA/Q heterogeneity increased. However, the data are not reported in terms of the standard deviation of the VA/Q distribution and thus cannot be compared directly to our values. They found roughly a 50% increase in VA/Q heterogeneity during PLV compared with GV by MIGET, which corresponds nicely to the 42, 62, and 58% increases in SDlog(VA/Q),VA, SDlog(VA/Q),Q, and SDlog(VA/Q),V, respectively, in our study (Table 3).

Effect of NTP

Investigators have speculated that the reduction of blood flow to dependent regions during PLV may be caused by compression of blood vessels because of the high specific weight of perflubron (3, 7, 18). However, PLV resulted not only in reduced Q to dependent regions but also in an even greater reduction in VA to those regions. We hypothesized that part of the redistribution of blood flow caused by PLV could have been the result of hypoxic vasoconstriction in perfluorocarbon-fluid filled alveoli that might have had low PO2 (because of a diffusion barrier for O2). We reasoned that if vasoconstriction were involved, reversing it with a high dose of intravenous NTP should have returned blood flow to more dependent lung zones. Given that the other two properties influencing pulmonary blood flow distribution (gravity and geometry) were constant, any change in perfusion distribution should be due to vasodilatation. Given that we found relatively small changes in perfusion distribution with the high dose of NTP used (Fig. 5, row 2), it appears that vasoconstriction plays only a small role in the changes in Q distribution seen with PLV.

After NTP vasodilation during PLV, there was a partial return of blood flow in the most dependent regions of the lung in three of the six sheep studied (Fig. 5, row 2, sheep 1, 2, and 6), suggesting that in these animals there was some local vasoconstriction during PLV in those regions. Interestingly, there was no response in one sheep (Fig. 5, row 2, sheep 5) and an increase in Q to middle regions, together with a decrease in Q to both dependent and nondependent regions in two (Fig. 5, row 2, sheep 3 and 4). We have no explanation for this variability in animal response, but we can speculate that it may be due to variability in the delivery of NTP to the different regions or in the regional vascular tone in the sheep. It is possible that, in the last two sheep mentioned, the dose of NTP to the very dependent regions was decreased because of blood vessel compression and that the amount of vasodilation was reduced compared with that induced in middle regions. We believe this to be unlikely because, in the last two sheep mentioned (sheep 3 and 4), the relative blood flow in the dependent zone was equal to that in the middle region in one case (sheep 3) and twice the middle region in the other (sheep 4, data not shown), yet they had the same response to NTP. Alternatively, it may be that NTP vasodilates uniformly and reveals underlying heterogeneity not due to vascular tone (i.e., that due to structure or gravity). For example, if we assume that vascular tone was uniform in the vertical direction, the elimination of that vascular tone can be expected to result in a further shift of perfusion away from the dependent region as the effect of high specific weight becomes more dominant.

During PLV, NTP significantly reduced sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> because of a reduction in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> and an increase in rho VAvs.Q. Despite the fact that NTP reduced VA/Q heterogeneity, we speculate that the reason oxygenation worsened was because cardiac output increased (Table 3), thus lowering the global lung VA/Q ratio and increasing flow through the dependent lung and increasing venous admixture (Table 1). The changes in cardiac output and global lung VA/Q did not reach statistical significance, however. As with PLV, changes in SDlog(VA/Q),VA, SDlog(VA/Q),Q, and SDlog(VA/Q),V tracked changes in sigma <UP><SUB><A><AC>V</AC><AC>˙</AC></A><SC>a</SC>/<A><AC>Q</AC><AC>˙</AC></A></SUB><SUP>2</SUP></UP> for all conditions.

Effect of NO

NO at 10 or 80 ppm added during PLV had small, and nonsignificant, effects on the vertical dependence of Q and VA distributions, measured from the 12 ROIs, compared with the changes caused by PLV. Nevertheless, when the data were analyzed by combining the 12 ROIs into three ROIs (nondependent, middle, and dependent), a significant increase in blood flow in the middle region was detected with NO at both concentrations (Table 2). Although these increases were modest (5 and 4%, respectively), they would tend to improve gas exchange because that middle region had the highest relative VA. Inhaled NO at 80 ppm, however, also increased flow to the less ventilated dependent region (5%), suggesting a loss of selective vasodilation. As a result, inhaled NO at 10 ppm during PLV significantly decreased the variance of VA/Q compared with PLV alone (Table 3). The higher dose did not significantly reduce heterogeneity of VA/Q, although both doses reduced Berggren shunt fraction (Table 1). These findings suggest that NO decreases shunt and improves the matching of VA and Q during PLV.

If vasoconstriction plays a minor role in the redistribution of perfusion during PLV, as it appears from the NTP data (see Effect of NTP), then how can NO have any effect on perfusion? It is true that if there were no vasomotor tone relaxed by NTP, then NO would also not be expected to affect pulmonary blood flow. The explanation may be that there is a small amount of baseline vasoconstriction or "resting" tone, enough so that relaxing this tone with NO in the better ventilated regions causes a relative redistribution of blood flow to middle regions, increasing blood oxygenation. In fact, the blood flow changes with NO were difficult to see (see Fig. 6), and it was only with a three-zone analysis (dependent, middle, and nondependent) that the changes became evident. On the other hand, delivering an NO donor throughout the lung through the circulation may cause a small global vasodilation that results in little change in relative perfusion.

How can the dramatic differences in oxygenation be explained given the small changes in perfusion with NTP or NO? First, trying to reconcile the oxygenation changes with the blood flow changes in the PET images may not be valid, because we are looking at one slice with PET, but oxygenation involves blood flow changes throughout the lung. Second, we used an FIO2 of 1.0 so that changes in oxygenation would best be reflected in changes in regional shunt flow, which we did not measure with this protocol.

Fractional Gas Content During GV and PLV

Regional indexes of fractional gas content were measured from the transmission scan acquired through the whole breathing cycle and from the gated transmission acquired during the last 3 s of exhalation. The former index corresponds to an average gas content at MLV and the latter to gas content at end exhalation or approximately at FRC. Thus a difference between these indexes should reflect local lung expansion caused by tidal breathing. We were initially puzzled by the relative lack of difference between these indexes estimated during GV. In an attempt to understand the reason for this lack of difference, we proceeded to estimate in theoretical grounds the magnitude of the change in gas content that would be expected during tidal GV as follows. For simplicity, we assumed that the regional lung behaved as the total lung and that gas volume increased linearly with time during inspiration and decreased with the same rate during exhalation. Because inspiration was 30% of the breathing cycle (the ventilator was set at an inhalation-exhalation ratio of 30:70), MLV for the whole breathing cycle was ~FRC + 0.3 · VT. VT was assumed 270 ml (the average for the six sheep) and FRC = 445 ml [for sheep with an average weight of 13.2 kg (31)]. Total volume of an ROI is the sum of the tissue/blood (Vti) and gas volumes. The ratio of gas content between FRC and MLV can then be estimated from estimates of VT, FRC, and Vti.1 If we take an average value for gas, fractional content at FRC of 0.6 the volume of nongas tissues can be estimated as 297 ml [Vti = FRC · (0.4/0.6)]. Substituting in this value and the values for FRC and VT, the ratio of gated to ungated conditions is 0.94. Therefore, the relative change in gas volume between the two conditions is only expected to be of order 6%. This relatively small variation is within experimental variability of our results and explains the small difference between gas content at FRC and MLV during GV.

To obtain a similar estimate during PLV, the volume of a region is now the sum of Vti, gas volume, and perflubron volume. Thus the ratio between average gas content and gas content at FRC can be expressed as a ratio.2 If we assume that the Vti (297 ml) remains unchanged and the average volume of perflubron instilled (393 ml) replaces that volume of FRC gas, then the relative change in gas volume between FRC and MLV is estimated to be ~57%. It is, however, likely that during PLV the regional volume of tissue and blood might decrease compared with GV, particularly in dependent regions where hydrostatic forces might result in increased lung expansion and decreased blood volume. This would invalidate one assumption in our calculation, but it is expected to be a relatively small effect that should not affect the change in gas content caused by tidal breathing. The other assumption, that perflubron replaces the gas volume of FRC, may also be not entirely correct. Perflubron probably increases the resting volume of the lungs and chest wall, thereby only partially replacing the gas volume of FRC. If we assume that the gas volume of FRC is reduced by half (from 445 to 222 ml), the relative change in gas volume between the FRC and MLV becomes 20%. In other words, because the VT becomes a much larger fraction of the total gas volume during PLV when FRC is partially or wholly replaced by perflubron, the change in fractional gas content becomes much greater during PLV.

The large difference between mean gas content and gas content at FRC in middle regions during PLV correlates well with the increased ventilation seen in those in regions during PLV. As can be inferred from the small error bars in Fig. 4, all sheep had the greatest relative ventilation in middle ROIs (4 through 8). Given that mean and FRC air content in these ROIs were substantially reduced compared with those during GV, one can speculate that, at the relatively high dose of perflubron used, middle lung regions must have had a significant quantity of liquid. Also within these zones, there were noticeable differences between mean and FRC gas content (Fig. 4), suggesting selective gas tidal expansion of these perflubron-filled regions and explaining their increased levels of regional VA. Likewise, mean and FRC gas content and the difference between these regional values were reduced in the most dependent zones, suggesting that alveoli were nearly perflubron filled at FRC and did not receive much gas during the respiratory cycle. This is consistent with results from a computed tomography study in sheep (26), demonstrating an increased density in dependent lung zones that did not change significantly from end exhalation to end inhalation. The middle and nondependent regions had the greatest difference in density between the two images, similar to our findings. However, that study was done in oleic acid-injured sheep, and the injury itself may have altered ventilation and regional gas content, particularly in the dependent region. Our study showed not only a decrease in gas content from these regions but also a marked reduction in gas transport from these regions.


    APPENDIX
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
REFERENCES

Estimation of Fractional Gas Content

During GV, a lung region can be assumed to be made of two compartments: a gas compartment and a tissue + blood compartment. Thus, for a given voxel within the lung field, we can write the equations
Vti<IT>+</IT>V<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=</IT>V<SUB>vox</SUB> (A1)
and
Vti<IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>Tiss</SUB><IT>+</IT>V<SUB>G</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>G</SUB><IT>=&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(GV)</SUB><IT>·</IT>V<SUB>vox</SUB> (A2)
where Vti is the volume occupied by tissues and blood with density rho ti, Vgas is the volume occupied by gas of density rho gas, and Vvox is the volume of the image voxel with average density rho vox(GV).

Dividing by Vvox, both sides of Eqs. A1 and A2 give
v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>+</IT>v<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=</IT>1 (A3)
and
v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB><IT>+</IT>v<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(GV)</SUB> (A4)
where vti is the fractional tissue and blood content (Vti/Vvox), and vgas is the fractional gas content (Vgas/Vvox). Given that rho gas is negligible compared with rho ti, we have from Eq. A4 that
v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>≅</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(GV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE> (A5)
Equation A5 was then used to generate images of local vti for GV by dividing voxel by voxel a masked transmission scan by rho ti estimated as the average voxel value from an ROI created within the heart. As described in METHODS, the second of the two gated transmission images was used to approximate local vti at FRC, and the sum of the two gated transmission images was used to estimate local vti averaged over the breathing cycle. For each ROI, values of regional vgas during GV were obtained by using Eq. A3, by subtracting from unity the respective average regional values of vti.

During PLV, a voxel within a lung region can be assumed to be made of a gas compartment with volume Vgas, a tissue + blood compartment of volume Vti, and a perflubron liquid compartment of volume Vperf. Thus, for a given voxel within the lung field, we can write the equations
Vti<IT>+</IT>V<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>+</IT>V<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>=</IT>V<SUB>vox</SUB> (A6)
and
V<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB><IT>+</IT>Vti<IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB><IT>+</IT>V<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(PLV)</SUB><IT>·</IT>V<SUB>vox</SUB> (A7)
where rho perf is the density of perflubron (1.93 g/ml) and rho vox(PLV) is the gross local density of a voxel during PLV.

Dividing both sides of Eqs. A6 and A7 by Vvox and assuming that rho gas is negligible gives
v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>+</IT>v<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>+</IT>v<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>=</IT>1 (A8)
and
v<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB><IT>+</IT>v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>·&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB><IT>=&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(PLV)</SUB> (A9)
Dividing by rho ti and solving for vperf in Eq. A9 gives
v<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>=</IT><FENCE><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(PLV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>·</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>−</IT>v<SUB>ti</SUB><IT>·</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE></FENCE> (A10)
Solving for vgas in Eq. A8, substituting vperf from Eq. A10 and assuming that vti for PLV changes little compared with that during GV (Eq. A5), yields
v<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=</IT>1<IT>−</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(PLV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>·</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>+</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(GV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>·</IT><FENCE><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>perf</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>−</IT>1</FENCE> (A11)
Because we know that (rho ti/rho perf) congruent  1/1.93 = 0.52, Eq. A11 becomes
v<SUB>gas</SUB><IT>=</IT>1<IT>−</IT>0.52<IT>·</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(PLV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE><IT>−</IT>0.48<IT>·</IT><FENCE><FR><NU><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>vox(GV)</SUB></NU><DE><IT>&rgr;</IT><SUB>ti</SUB></DE></FR></FENCE> (A12)
For each ROI, Eq. A12 was used to calculate values of regional vgas during PLV.

As with GV, the second of the two gated transmission images was used to generate images of rho vox(PLV)/rho ti at FRC, and the sum of the two gated transmission images was used to calculate images of rho vox(PLV)/rho ti averaged over the breathing cycle.


    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported in part by Alliance Pharmaceutical (San Diego, CA) and by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant HL-38267.


    FOOTNOTES

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: R. S. Harris, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Bulfinch 148, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114 (E-mail: rharris{at}partners.org).

1 The ratio is


<FR><NU><FR><NU>V<SUB>gas</SUB></NU><DE>Vtot<SUB>FRC</SUB></DE></FR></NU><DE><FR><NU>V<SUB>gas</SUB></NU><DE>Vtot<SUB>MLV</SUB></DE></FR></DE></FR><IT>=</IT><FR><NU><FR><NU>FRC</NU><DE>Vti<IT>+</IT>FRC</DE></FR></NU><DE><FR><NU>FRC<IT>+</IT>0.3V<SC>t</SC></NU><DE>Vti<IT>+</IT>(FRC<IT>+</IT>0.3V<SC>t</SC>)</DE></FR></DE></FR>

where Vgas is the volume of gas, Vti is the volume of tissue + blood, VtotFRC is the total volume of gas, tissue, and blood at FRC, and VtotMLV is the total volume of gas, tissue, and blood at MLV.

2 The ratio in this case is


<FR><NU><FR><NU>V<SUB>gas</SUB></NU><DE>Vtot<SUB>FRC</SUB></DE></FR></NU><DE><FR><NU>V<SUB>gas</SUB></NU><DE>Vtot<SUB>MLV</SUB></DE></FR></DE></FR><IT>=</IT><FR><NU><FR><NU>FRC</NU><DE>Vti<IT>+</IT>V<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>+</IT>FRC</DE></FR></NU><DE><FR><NU>FRC<IT>+</IT>0.3V<SC>t</SC></NU><DE>Vti<IT>+</IT>V<SUB>perf</SUB><IT>+</IT>(FRC<IT>+</IT>0.3V<SC>t</SC>)</DE></FR></DE></FR>

where Vperf is the volume of perflubron.

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 18 January 2001; accepted in final form 27 August 2001.


    REFERENCES
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ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
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