Abstract

Respiratory failure is a major contributor to mortality and morbidity in newborn infants. The lung assist device (LAD) is a novel gas exchange device that supplements mechanical ventilation. The objective is to test the effect of the LAD on pulmonary histopathology in juvenile piglets with acute lung injury caused by saline lung lavage (SLL) followed by intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV). Three- to 4-wk-old piglets were randomized to no intervention (control group), SLL alone (SLL group), SLL + IMV (IMV group), or SLL + IMV + LAD (LAD group) (n = 6 per group). The carotid artery and jugular vein were cannulated and an arteriovenous circuit completed, and the LAD was inserted into this circuit. Gas exchange via the LAD was initiated by passage of 100% oxygen over the blood-carrying hollow fibers of the LAD. Hemodynamic variables were recorded. Mechanical ventilation was systematically weaned. Lung histology was scored by two observers masked to treatment group. There were no differences in hemodynamic variables between the study groups. There was a significant increase in the total lung injury score in the IMV group compared with the LAD group. The novel pumpless low-resistance LAD has shown feasibility and potential to decrease ventilator-induced lung injury in a juvenile animal model.