Cerebral function monitoring in rats with a critical hepatic injury treated with pneumatic antishock garment and infusion

Twenty-nine rats were subjected to a severe standardized hepatic injury and divided into four groups. In addition to controls, the animals were treated with PASG inflated to 40 mm Hg, PASG and infusion of Ringer's acetate, or PASG and infusion of Ringer's acetate and Dextran 70 in combination. The aim of the infusion therapy was to stabilize the mean aortic blood pressure at 60 mm Hg. PASG significantly prolonged the survival time and the time during which a sensory evoked response could be observed. The PASG also prolonged the time before the EEG amplitude began to decrease or a burst-suppression pattern appeared in the EEG. Intravenous infusion of Ringer's acetate did not prolong these times compared to when PASG was used alone; when Dextran 70 was added to the infusion therapy these times were reduced. Changes in the EEG were recorded at a mean aortic pressure of 60 mm Hg when infusions were given, whereas the aortic pressure had to fall to 40 mm Hg before any changes could be observed when no infusions were used