Lower body positive pressure vs. dopamine during PEEP in humans.

The application of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) of approximately 40 Torr was used to increase cardiac index (CI) in eight patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) during positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation. The effects of LBPP on hemodynamics and gas exchange were compared with those of dopamine at the same level of CI without blood volume expansion. LBPP increased CI via an increase in stroke index without associated tachycardia, whereas dopamine combined both effects. A positive linear relationship (r = 0.82) was evidenced between CI and right atrial pressure (Pra) during application of LBPP according to the Frank-Starling mechanism, whereas dopamine did not increase Pra. The increase in CI with dopamine was associated with a significant rise in venous admixture (r = 0.84, P less than 0.001), whereas no such effect was observed with LBPP (r = 0.088). Changes in venous admixture were directly related to changes in mixed venous O2 pressure (PVO2) in both situations (r = 0.733, P less than 0.01), but the increase in PVO2 was more pronounced with dopamine than with LBPP (P less than 0.04). We conclude that LBPP can effectively counterbalance peripheral venous blood pooling during PEEP ventilation in humans with ARF and that changes in PVO2 appear as a major determinant of venous admixture in this setting.