Computer tomographic assessment of partial liquid ventilation in dogs with inhalation injury

Objective: To analyze CT and pathologic findings of lung in dogs with inhalation injury, and to provide reliable basis to explore the mechanism of partial liquid ventilation (PLV) treatment on inhalation injury. Methods: Respiratory tract injury models in 14 dogs were made by steam inhalation and they were divided into 2 groups. The control group was treated by high frequency ventilation (HFV) and the treatment group was treated by partial liquid with perfluorocarbon plus HFV. CT scan of the lung in dogs with inhalation injury was performed before and after perfluorocarbon (PFC) PLV, and then the histopathologic pieces with isolation lung were obtained. Analysis and comparison of the results among them was conducted. Results: After steam inhalation injury, CT appeared as exudation with patchy and mass in 6 dogs, cotton-wool spots in 2 dogs, ground-glass opacity in 2 dogs, and consolidation in 4 dogs. CT appeared as mass in 5 dogs with inhalation injury of perfluorocarbon-filled lungs during partial liquid ventilation, patchy in 2 dogs, and homogeneous in 1 dog. The distribution of perfluorocarbon was in the posterior region of lung. The CT findings were in accordance with those in histopathology. Conclusion: Perfluorocarbon is distributed predominantly in the dependent regions of the lung and the distribution of perfluorocarbon is gravity dependent. It is benefit for the inhalation injury