Cited 21 times since 2013 (2 per year) source: EuropePMC Critical care medicine, Volume 41, Issue 12, 1 1 2013, Pages e401-10 Mild hypothermia attenuates circulatory and pulmonary dysfunction during experimental endotoxemia. Schwarzl M, Seiler S, Wallner M, von Lewinski D, Huber S, Maechler H, Steendijk P, Zelzer S, Truschnig-Wilders M, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Lueger A, Pieske BM, Post H

Objective

We tested whether mild hypothermia impacts on circulatory and respiratory dysfunction during experimental endotoxemia.

Design

Randomized controlled prospective experimental study.

Setting

Large animal facility, Medical University of Graz, Austria.

Subjects

Thirteen anesthetized and mechanically ventilated pigs.

Interventions

Lipopolysaccharide was administered for 4 hours. With the beginning of lipopolysaccharide infusion, animals were assigned to either normothermia (38°C, n = 7) or mild hypothermia (33°C, n = 6, intravascular cooling) and followed for 8 hours in total.

Measurements and main results

At the end of the protocol, cardiac output was lower in mild hypothermia than in normothermia (4.5 ± 0.4 L/min vs 6.6 ± 0.4 L/min, p < 0.05), but systemic vascular resistance (885 ± 77 dyn·s/cm vs 531 ± 29 dyn·s/cm, p < 0.05) and (Equation is included in full-text article.)(77% ± 6% vs 54% ± 3%, p < 0.05) were higher. Indices of left ventricular contractility in vivo were not different between groups. The high-frequency band in spectral analysis of heart rate variability indicated a better preserved vagal autonomic modulation of sinuatrial node activity in mild hypothermia versus normothermia (87 ± 5 vs 47 ± 5, normalized units, p < 0.05). Plasma norepinephrine levels were elevated compared with baseline in normothermia (2.13 ± 0.27 log pg/mL vs 0.27 ± 0.17 log pg/mL, p < 0.05) but not in mild hypothermia (1.02 ± 0.31 vs 0.55 ± 0.26, p = not significant). At 38°C in vitro, left ventricular muscle strips isolated from the mild hypothermia group had a higher force response to isoproterenol. SaO2 (100% ± 0% vs 92% ± 3%, p < 0.05) and the oxygenation index (PO2/FIO2, 386 ± 52 mm Hg vs 132 ± 32 mm Hg, p < 0.05) were substantially higher in mild hypothermia versus normothermia. Plasma cytokine levels were not consistently different between groups (interleukin 10) or higher (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin 6 and 8) during mild hypothermia versus normothermia.

Conclusion

The induction of mild hypothermia attenuates cardiac and respiratory dysfunction and counteracts sympathetic activation during experimental endotoxemia. This was not associated with lower plasma cytokine levels, indicating a reduction of cytokine responsiveness by mild hypothermia.

Crit Care Med. 2013 12;41(12):e401-10