The pathophysiological changes of experimental fat embolism: early pre-hypoxaemic changes.

Glyceryl trioleate has been injected into greyhounds as a model of the fat embolism syndrome. Pulmonary vascular pressures, systemic arterial pressure and cardiac output were determined at regular intervals over an 8-hour period. It has been shown that glyceryl tioleate causes an increased pulmonary vascular resistance and a fall in cardiac output. These effects are mediated partly by a direct mechanical block of pulmonary vessels and partly through a thrombogenic property of the injected fat. The relevance of these findings to the clinical situation is discussed and a sequence of events for the fat embolism syndrome is proposed.