Stomach, liver, kidney and skeletal muscle autoregulation evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy in a swine model.

PURPOSE

Different organs have different autoregulatory capacities for blood pressure changes and/or circulatory volume changes. This study assessed the autoregulation of the stomach, liver, kidney and skeletal muscle, under baseline, hypovolemic, and post-fluid-resuscitation conditions using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

METHODS

Ten pigs (bodyweight 24.5 ± 0.5 kg) were anesthetized with 2.5% isoflurane and administered 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 µg kg min of phenylephrine at 10-min intervals, followed by similar stepwise infusion of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to induce a wide range of mean arterial pressures (MAPs). A 600-ml bleed was induced to create the hypovolemic condition, and only phenylephrine was re-administered. Hydroxyethyl starch (600 ml) was infused to create the post-fluid-resuscitation condition, and phenylephrine and SNP were re-administered. Average relationships between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and each tissue oxygenation index (TOI) were assessed, and the individual relationships were evaluated based on the correlation coefficients between MAP and TOI during each vasoactive drug infusion.

RESULTS

Based on the evaluation using each TOI as a substitute of blood flow, the kidney autoregulation was robust, similar to muscle, but had a prominent lower limit. The stomach had weaker autoregulation than the kidney and muscle. The liver had no autoregulation. The kidney TOI showed 2-fold greater changes in response to volume condition changes than the stomach and liver TOIs.

CONCLUSION

In our NIRS-based assessment of autoregulatory capacity, the liver oxygenation is highly blood pressure dependent, and the kidney is highly susceptible and the skeletal muscle is highly tolerable to low blood pressure and volume loss.