Gas exchange as monitored in mixed venous and arterial blood during experimental cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Nineteen anaesthetized piglets were investigated. After catheterization and a stabilization period, ventricular fibrillation was induced with a transthoracic DC shock, after which a 10-min period of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) took place. CPR included manual chest compression and mechanical ventilation with pure oxygen. After 1 min of CPR, an infusion of alkaline buffer was begun and completed within 5 min. A total of 50 mmol of either sodium bicarbonate (n = 6) or tris buffer mixture (n = 7) were given. These two groups were compared with a third control group (n = 6) receiving the same volume of normal saline. After 8 min of CPR all animals were given 0.5 mg adrenaline i.v., and after 10 min DC shocks were used to revert the heart back to normal sinus rhythm. Our results demonstrate that blood flow and not ventilation is the limiting factor for the efficient disposal of CO2 during CPR. This also applied when the demand for CO2 transport was increased by administration of sodium bicarbonate. The respiratory exchange ratio increased 1.9-fold, indicating that the transport of carbon dioxide was less affected than that of oxygen. The estimated alveolo-arterial oxygen tension difference, shunt, and overall ventilation/perfusion ratio increased, creating an inverse hyperbolic relationship between arterial PCO2 and PO2. The difference between mixed venous and arterial PCO2 correlated well to the mixed venous PCO2, implying more efficient pulmonary elimination of PCO2 when the mixed venous PCO2 was high. Pulmonary gas exchange during CPR appears to be independent of alkaline buffer therapy in the form of sodium bicarbonate or tris buffer mixture.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)