Use of indium-111 oxine to study pulmonary and hepatic leukocyte sequestration in endotoxin shock and effects of the beta-2 receptor agonist terbutaline.

The dynamic behavior of indium-111 oxine-labeled leukocytes was simultaneously recorded in multiple organs during endotoxin shock in sheep. Also, the effects of the beta-2 receptor agonist terbutaline were studied. An experimental protocol was designed to mimic a clinical condition in an intensive care setting as far as possible. The animals were ventilated with 50% oxygen to avoid hypoxemia and were given large amounts of intravenous fluids to reduce adverse effects of hypovolemia. A moderate dose of E. coli endotoxin (10 micrograms/kg bwt) was given by intravenous infusion to 14 adult sheep, seven of them receiving continuous intravenous infusion of terbutaline (20 micrograms/kg/hr) during 4 hr, starting 30 min after endotoxin, when signs of lung injury had developed. The other seven acted as controls. A marked pulmonary and hepatic leukocyte sequestration together with a sharp drop in leukocyte counts in peripheral blood occurred within minutes after start of the endotoxin infusion in both groups. However, no changes were observed in the kidneys or the gut. After 60 min and until the end of the experiment, there was a significantly lower activity in the lungs and in the liver of the animals treated with terbutaline than in the controls (P less than .01). Furthermore, less marked hemodynamic and respiratory alterations occurred in the terbutaline group compared with the controls. This study confirms the results of other investigators showing that significant leukocyte sequestration occurs in the lungs during endotoxemia, but it also demonstrates that leukocytes sequestrate in the liver, although slightly less than in the lungs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)