The Journal of surgical research
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The measurement of lung water by the thermal-dye double indicator dilution technique was evaluated in dogs with normal and edematous lungs during a state of reduced cardiac output. The technique used cold indocyanine green dye to measure extravascular thermal volume (EVTV) as an estimate of extravascular lung water (EVLW). Anesthesia was maintained with pentobarbital. ⋯ Predetermination measurements of EVTV correlated closely with EVLW as determined by gravimetric analysis (EVTV = 1.1 EVLW + 4.7 ml/kg, n = 21, r = 0.93, P less than 0.001). Thermodilution cardiac output measured in the abdominal aorta (used in the calculation of the EVTV) correlated well with simultaneous measurements of cardiac output by both indocyanine green dye dilution and pulmonary artery thermodilution (r = 0.86 and r = 0.88, respectively, pretermination). The thermal-dye technique appears to provide an accurate reflection of lung water in normal and edematous lungs, even in the presence of a low cardiac output.