Effects of extracorporeal oxygenation of venous return on pulmonary artery pressure

¹ Department of Physiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia

Pulmonary arterial hyperoxemia was produced in anesthetized, open-chest dogs by means of an extracorporeal oxygenator with an inflow system which prevented right atrial pressure from exceeding 7–10 cm of blood. No significant changes in pulmonary artery pressure were found when pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation was elevated to 80–99%. The elevated pulmonary artery pressure associated with systemic arterial hypoxemia was reduced by extracorporeal oxygenation of venous return. The use of such a system for attainment of tolerable levels of systemic arterial oxygen saturation in patients with acute disorders of pulmonary alveolar-capillary gas exchange is discussed.