Effects of ketamine on liver blood flow and hepatic oxygen consumption. Studies in the anaesthetised greyhound.

The effects of three increasing doses of ketamine on the blood flow to, and oxygen consumption of, the liver, were studied in seven anaesthetised greyhounds. Hepatic arterial and portal venous blood flows were measured continuously using electromagnetic flow probes, and mean arterial pressure and cardiac output monitored as appropriate. Ketamine, even at the highest dose, had little effect on the blood flow to the liver: hepatic arterial blood flow and portal venous blood flow did not differ significantly from their baseline values. However, the oxygen delivery to the liver decreased due, probably, to an increase in oxygen consumption by the pre-portal organs.