Measurement of pulmonary blood flow during exercise using nitrous oxide

Pulmonary capillary blood flow (Qc) in the exercising subject was calculated from the rate of disappearance of N2O during steady state breathing of an N2O-He-O2 mixture. Measurements were made after alveolar rinsing (reciprocal of N2 washout) had occurred, and up to 30 sec, a time period accompanied by minimal recirculation, since FaNN2O during this period did not rise significantly. Repeatability of the method, judged as the difference of a second estimate from a first on the same subject, was comparable to that reported for the direct Fick technique in resting subjects (31 of 33 paired observations agreed within 20%). Results over a wide range agreed with almost simultaneous measurements by a dye dilution technique (24 of 26 paired observations agreed within 20%), and when related to pulse rate and to Vo2, were comparable to those of the other workers whose subjects were studied in a similar posture. Indeed, this technique (using the indirect Fick principle under “steady state” conditions) probably attains its greatest accuracy during exercise when other methods become less easily applicable. Submitted on December 18, 1961