• Y Mahjoub, E Lorne, J Maizel, G Plantefève, Z A Massy, H Dupont, and M Slama.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens, France. mahjoub.yazine@chu-amiens.fr
• Br J Anaesth. 2012 Feb 1;108(2):211-5.

BackgroundIn the intensive care unit, intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) is a frequently encountered, life-threatening condition. The aim of this animal study was to evaluate the effect of IAH on left ventricular (LV) relaxation (i.e. the active phase of diastole).MethodsSeven male rabbits were anaesthetized before mechanical ventilation. A 20 mm Hg increase in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) was then induced by intraperitoneal infusion of 1.5% glycine solution. Haemodynamic parameters were recorded and the relaxation time constant tau (considered to be the best index of left ventricle relaxation) was calculated. All haemodynamic measurements were recorded at baseline and then after induction of IAH.ResultsA 20 mm Hg increase in IAP was not followed by a significant change in arterial pressure, but was associated with increases in central venous pressure (from 2 [-2 to 6] to 7 [-2 to 12] mm Hg, P= 0.03), LV end-diastolic pressure (from 7 [6-8] to 15 [11-19] mm Hg, P= 0.04) and the relaxation time constant tau (from 16 [14-18] to 43 [34-52] ms, P= 0.048).ConclusionsIn this animal study, a 20 mm Hg increase in IAP impaired LV relaxation. Further studies are necessary to identify the causes of this impairment.

16 keywords...

hide…