The effect of methylprednisolone on hepatic oxygen supply and plasma lactate and glucose in endotoxemia.

This study was designed to determine the effect of methylprednisolone on the profile of hepatic oxygen supply and selected blood parameters in fasted, male rats administered an LD85 dosage of E coli endotoxin intraperitoneally. Mortality rates within 24 hours were 85% in rats receiving endotoxin only, 9% in rats receiving a 30 mg/kg dosage of methylprednisolone intraarterially one hour subsequent to endotoxin insult, and 0% in methylprednisolone controls. Beginning with the fourth hour, untreated endotoxin rats had significantly higher heart rates and lower plasma glucose; by the sixth or eighth hour there was significantly greater hypocapnia, lower blood pH, and higher plasma lactate levels in comparison to endotoxic rats receiving methylprednisolone. In addition, mean hepatic pO2 between the sixth and seventh hours was 2.6 mm Hg in endotoxic rats, 10.6 mm Hg in endotoxic methylprednisolone rats, and 17.7 mm Hg in methylprednisolone controls. Methylprednisolone controls showed a steady increase of plasma glucose levels through eight hours but were otherwise stable. Maintenance of hepatic circulation is cited as the probable basis for differences of morbidity and mortality between treated and glucocorticoid-treated endotoxic rats.