Comparison between conventional hemodynamic monitoring and polarographic tissue pO₂-monitoring of the liver in early septicemia of the pig

The common therapeutic approach to septicemia - aside from elimination of its cause and antibiosis - consists of the attempt to keep tissue perfusion within physiological limits. A frequently employed therapeutic option is catecholamine administration. Since the reduction of peripheral vascular resistance in septicemia is at least partly due to a TNF induced vascular NO-synthase, the inhibition of this system does affect tissue perfusion as well. While there are controversial results as to the benefit of inhibition of NO-synthase on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cardiac index (CI) (1) the effect of NO-synthase inhibition on liver circulation has not been described. In addition we were interested in the effect of NO-synthase inhibition on liver pO2.
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