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Alveolar Stability during Anaesthesia for Reconstructive Vascular Surgery in the Leg
Author(s) -
HedenstiernaM.D. G.,
Lundh R.,
Johansson H.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1983.tb01900.x
Subject(s) - medicine , atelectasis , anesthesia , enflurane , general anaesthesia , lung , perfusion , shunting , inhalation , surgery , cardiology , halothane
Alveolar stability was studied during prolonged enflurane anaesthesia by using a multiple inert‐gas elimination technique for the assessment of the “continuous” distribution of ventilation‐perfusion ratios (V̇ A /Q̇). All 10 patients (mean age: 61 years, six smokers) presented with increased V̇ A /Q̇ mismatching during anaesthesia, with a redistribution of lung blood flow to regions with low or high V̇ A /Q̇. Five patients had perfusion of units with V̇ A /Q̇≤0.07 which may cause unstable alveoli with the presently used inspiratory gas mixture. However, only two patients displayed increasing shunting suggestive of alveolar collapse during the 3.5 h observation period. This lower than expected incidence may indicate protective mechanisms against atelectasis, such as mechanical interdependence between lung units, or collateral ventilation.