[Hyperoxemia in extracorporeal circulation].

The authors demonstrate the effects of hyperoxemia in dogs subjected to extracorporeal circulation. Arterial Po2 was maintained between 100 and 140 mm Hg in a control group and above 200 mm Hg in another group. There was no morbidity or mortality in these experiments. Postoperative functional status as well as hematological and biochemical data were similar in both groups. However, free plasma hemoglobin was 50% higher in animals subjected to hyperoxygenation. It is thus concluded that on the basis of these results hyperoxygenation has no beneficial effect on the animals submitted to total body bypass and moreover that arterial Po2 over 200 mm Hg increases hemolysis.