Ventilatory response to hypoxia in unanesthetized newborn kittens

1988 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 2544-2551 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rigatto ◽  
C. Wiebe ◽  
C. Rigatto ◽  
D. S. Lee ◽  
D. Cates

We studied the ventilatory response to hypoxia in 11 unanesthetized newborn kittens (n = 54) between 2 and 36 days of age by use of a flow-through system. During quiet sleep, with a decrease in inspired O2 fraction from 21 to 10%, minute ventilation increased from 0.828 +/- 0.029 to 1.166 +/- 0.047 l.min-1.kg-1 (P less than 0.001) and then decreased to 0.929 +/- 0.043 by 10 min of hypoxia. The late decrease in ventilation during hypoxia was related to a decrease in tidal volume (P less than 0.001). Respiratory frequency increased from 47 +/- 1 to 56 +/- 2 breaths/min, and integrated diaphragmatic activity increased from 14.9 +/- 0.9 to 20.2 +/- 1.4 arbitrary units; both remained elevated during hypoxia (P less than 0.001). Younger kittens (less than 10 days) had a greater decrease in ventilation than older kittens. These results suggest that the late decrease in ventilation during hypoxia in the newborn kitten is not central but is due to a peripheral mechanism located in the lungs or respiratory pump and affecting tidal volume primarily. We speculate that either pulmonary bronchoconstriction or mechanical uncoupling of diaphragm and chest wall may be involved.

1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Weintraub ◽  
R. Alvaro ◽  
K. Kwiatkowski ◽  
D. Cates ◽  
H. Rigatto

To discover whether increases in inhaled O2 fraction (FIO2; up to 40%) decrease apnea via an increase in minute ventilation (VE) or a change in respiratory pattern, 15 preterm infants (birth weight 1,300 +/- 354 g, gestational age 29 +/- 2 wk, postnatal age 20 +/- 9 days) breathed 21, 25, 30, 35, and 40% O2 for 10 min in quiet sleep. A nosepiece and a flow-through system were used to measure ventilation. Alveolar PCO2, transcutaneous PO2, and sleep states were also assessed. All infants had periodic breathing with apneas greater than or equal to 3 s. With an increase in FIO2 breathing became more regular and apneas decreased (P less than 0.001). This regularization in breathing was not associated with significant changes in VE. However, the variability of VE, tidal volume, and expiratory and inspiratory times decreased significantly. The results indicate that the more regular breathing observed with small increases in FIO2 was not associated with significant changes in ventilation. The findings suggest that the increased oxygenation decreases apnea and periodicity in preterm infants, not via an increase in ventilation, but through a decrease in breath-to-breath variability of VE.


1985 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. McCooke ◽  
M. A. Hanson

Respiration was measured noninvasively in conscious kittens at an ambient temperature of 28–32 degrees C. Inspired O2 fraction (FIO2) was reduced abruptly from 0.21 to 0.12, 0.10, or 0.08 for 5 min on the day of birth and then on days 4, 7, 14, and 28. The ventilatory response to hypoxia was biphasic, as reported previously in anesthetized kittens, with minute ventilation (VE) increasing in the first minute and then falling towards control over the next 4 min. The fall in VE was due to a consistent fall in tidal volume, the changes in frequency during the second phase being more variable. The size of the first phase of the response increased up to 14 days, but the time at which the peak increase in VE occurred was not correlated with age. The degree of the secondary fall in VE was similar at each age and at each FIO2 studied. The degree of the biphasic response was significantly reduced after administration of almitrine (2 mg/kg ip) on days 1 and 4, but almitrine did not affect the response in older kittens.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 634-638
Author(s):  
Manuel Durand ◽  
Ellen McCann ◽  
June P. Brady

The effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on the ventilatory response to CO2 in newborn infants is unknown. The CO2 response to 4% CO2 in air was studied in nine preterm infants without lung disease before and during administration of CPAP (4 to 5 cm H2O) delivered by face mask. Minute ventilation, tidal volume, respiratory frequency, and end-tidal Pco2 were measured, and the slope and intercept of the CO2 response were calculated. Respiratory pattern and changes in oxygenation were also analyzed by measuring inspiratory and expiratory time, mean inspiratory flow, mean expiratory flow, effective respiratory timing, endtidal Po2, and transcutaneous Po2. CPAP significantly decreased minute ventilation from 278.7 to 197.6 mL/mm/kg (P < .001). Tidal volume and respiratory frequency were also significantly decreased. The slope of the CO2 response during CPAP was not significantly different from the slope before CPAP (36 v 33 mL/min/kg/mm Hg, P > .1), but the intercept was shifted to the right (P < .001). The decrease in respiratory frequency was primarily due to a prolongation of expiratory time (P < .05). In addition, transcutaneous Po2 increased during administration of CPAP (P < .001). These findings indicate that: (1) CPAP significantly decreases ventilation in preterm infants without lung disease, affecting both tidal volume and respiratory frequency; (2) CPAP does not appreciably alter the ventilatory response to CO2; (3) the changes in respiratory frequency are primarily accounted for by a prolongation of expiratory time; (4) CPAP improves oxygenation.


1982 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Haddad ◽  
M. R. Gandhi ◽  
R. B. Mellins

Using the barometric method, we studied the maturation of the ventilatory response to steady-level hypoxia (FIO2 = 15%O2) during sleep in 37 beagle puppies. In rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, instantaneous minute ventilation (VT/Ttot) and mean inspiratory time (VT/TI) increased, and inspiratory time (TI) and expiratory time (TE) were shortened in response to hypoxia at all the ages studied (14, 19, 24, 29 days). In quiet sleep, however, VT/Ttot decreased, and TE and Ttot were prolonged at 14 days in response to the same hypoxic stimulus. There was no change in VT/Ttot at 19 and 24 days of age, but VI/Ttot and VT/TI increased, and TI and TE were shortened at 29 days of age in response to hypoxia in the same sleep state. The mean arterial O2 tension (PaO2) dropped during hypoxia to about 45 Torr, and the mean arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2) decreased, and the mean pH increased at all ages in both REM and quiet sleep. We conclude that in beagles puppies 1) the ventilatory response to hypoxia matures at a slower rate in quiet than in REM sleep and depends primarily on timing rather than volume mechanisms: and 2) in response to hypoxia, the regulation of blood gases in REM sleep may be achieved differently from that in quiet sleep in early life.


2000 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 1907-1914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean M. Robinson ◽  
Henry Kwok ◽  
Brandon M. Adams ◽  
Karen C. Peebles ◽  
Gregory D. Funk

We examined developmental changes in breathing pattern and the ventilatory response to hypoxia (7.4% O2) in unanesthetized Swiss CD-1 mice ranging in age from postnatal day 0 to 42(P0–P42) using head-out plethysmography. The breathing pattern of P0 mice was unstable. Apneas were frequent at P0 (occupying 29 ± 6% of total time) but rare by P3 (5 ± 2% of total time). Tidal volume increased in proportion to body mass (∼10–13 ml/kg), but increases in respiratory frequency (f) (55 ± 7, 130 ± 13, and 207 ± 20 cycles/min for P0, P3, and P42, respectively) were responsible for developmental increases in minute ventilation (690 ± 90, 1,530 ± 250, and 2,170 ± 430 ml ⋅ min− 1 ⋅ kg− 1for P0, P3, and P42, respectively). Between P0 and P3, increases in f were mediated by reductions in apnea and inspiratory and expiratory times; beyond P3, increases were due to reductions in expiratory time. Mice of all ages showed a biphasic hypoxic ventilatory response, which differed in two respects from the response typical of most mammals. First, the initial hyperpnea, which was greatest in mature animals, decreased developmentally from a maximum, relative to control, of 2.58 ± 0.29 in P0 mice to 1.32 ± 0.09 in P42mice. Second, whereas ventilation typically falls to or below control in most neonatal mammals, ventilation remained elevated relative to control throughout the hypoxic exposure in P0 (1.73 ± 0.31), P3 (1.64 ± 0.29), and P9 (1.34 ± 0.17) mice but not in P19 or P42 mice.


2003 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew T. Lovering ◽  
Witali L. Dunin-Barkowski ◽  
Edward H. Vidruk ◽  
John M. Orem

This study characterized ventilation, the airflow waveform, and diaphragmatic activity in response to hypoxia in the intact adult cat during sleep and wakefulness. Exposure to hypoxia for up to 3 h caused sustained hyperventilation during both wakefulness and sleep. Hyperventilation resulted from significant increases in minute ventilation due to increases in both tidal volume and frequency. Diaphragmatic activity changed significantly from augmenting activity with little postinspiratory-inspiratory activity (PIIA) in normoxia to augmenting activity with increased PIIA in hypoxia. The increase in PIIA was least in rapid eye movement sleep. These changes in diaphragmatic activity were associated with changes in airflow waveforms in inspiration and expiration. We conclude that the ventilatory response to hypoxia involves a change in the output of the central pattern generator and that the change is dependent in part on the state of consciousness.


1996 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken D. O'halloran ◽  
Aidan K. Curran ◽  
Aidan Bradford

1. Ventilation was measured during normoxia, hypoxia and hypercapnia before and after administration of almitrine in conscious, unrestrained, tracheostomized rats with the superior laryngeal nerves intact or cut. In superior laryngeal nerve-intact animals breathing air, almitrine increased minute ventilation due to an increase in respiratory frequency with no change in tidal volume. In superior laryngeal nerve-sectioned animals, the minute ventilatory response to almitrine was reduced due to a reduced tidal volume component of the response. Almitrine increased the ventilatory response to hypercapnia in superior laryngeal nerve-intact but not in sectioned animals. 2. In anaesthetized, vagotomized rats breathing spontaneously through a low-cervical tracheostomy, diaphragm and geniohyoid electromyographic activities were recorded. Arterial blood pressure and rectal temperature were continuously monitored. A single dose of almitrine was administered intravenously. In all animals, the geniohyoid muscle had phasic inspiratory activity which slightly preceded diaphragm activity. Almitrine had no effect on respiratory frequency or inspiratory and expiratory duration but increased mean peak integrated diaphragm (+29.3 ±13.6%) and geniohyoid (+ 132.0 ±21.3%) muscle activity. 3. These results show that almitrine exerts part of its ventilatory effects through superior laryngeal nerve afferents. Almitrine preferentially excites upper airway compared with diaphragm muscle activity, suggesting a potential role in the alleviation of obstructive apnoea.


1984 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1464-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bonora ◽  
D. Marlot ◽  
H. Gautier ◽  
B. Duron

Effects of steady-state hypoxia (inspired O2 fraction = 0.11) on ventilation and breathing pattern were studied during postnatal development in unanesthetized kittens. Studies were done from 2 days to 8 mo of age, every week during the first month and every month thereafter. During the first 2 months, states of consciousness were determined. In the first month, minute ventilation (VE) was depressed in hypoxia compared with control values in air, whereas in the older kittens VE was increased in hypoxia, as in adult cats. The inhibitory effect of hypoxia was observed in all three states of consciousness in 7- and 14-day-old kittens. In the 21- and 28-day-old kittens, VE could not be reliably related to the state of consciousness. In the 2-mo-old kittens, VE increased in all states. Tidal volume (VT) was markedly decreased in kittens up to 14 days of age, and respiratory frequency increased. In the 21- and 28-day-old kittens, changes in breathing pattern were variable. In the oldest, the increase of VE was mainly due to an increase of VT. We conclude that in unanesthetized kittens, the ventilatory response to hypoxia is mature at 2 mo of age. The hypoxic tachypnea observed at 7 and 14 days resembles that previously seen in adult carotid-denervated cats, and may be due to a low level of carotid chemoreceptor drive and to a central excitatory effect of hypoxia on respiratory frequency. The complex response observed during the first month of life must reflect the development of peripheral and central mechanisms and their interactions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 416-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Wozniak ◽  
A. A. Hutchison ◽  
P. C. Kosch

Term human newborns were challenged with a 2–3% CO2 gas mixture during quiet sleep. A common ventilatory response, consisting of increased tidal volume with no change in respiratory frequency or timing, was observed in all eight subjects. Minute ventilation and mean inspiratory and expiratory flow rates were elevated in all eight subjects [38 +/- 8 (SE), 38 +/- 22, and 39 +/- 9%, respectively]. Diaphragm, intercostal, and posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle activities during inspiration were increased in four of eight, six of eight, and seven of eight subjects, respectively Changes in intercostal and PCA muscle activities correlated with changes in inspiratory flow rates (r = 0.77 and 0.66, respectively). Diaphragmatic braking of expiratory airflow varied between subjects during room air breathing and did not change in six subjects with CO2 breathing. The remaining two subjects increased postinspiratory inspiratory diaphragmatic activity. Baseline expiratory PCA activity was augmented with CO2 breathing in six of eight subjects and correlated with increases in mean expiratory airflow (r = 0.76). The newborn infant is capable of using a variety of breathing strategies to augment tidal volume and minute ventilation, and control of the upper airway appears to be critical in modulating airflow during CO2 breathing.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-867
Author(s):  
Janet G. Wingkun ◽  
Janet S. Knisely ◽  
Sidney H. Schnoll ◽  
Gary R. Gutcher

Objective. To determine whether there is a demonstrable abnormality in control of breathing in infants of substance-abusing mothers during the first few days of life. Methods. We enrolled 12 drug-free control infants and 12 infants of substance abusing mothers (ISAMs). These infants experienced otherwise uncomplicated term pregnancies and deliveries. The infants were assigned to a group based on the results of maternal histories and maternal and infant urine toxicology screens. Studies were performed during quiet sleep during the first few days of life. We measured heart rate, oxygen saturations via a pulse oximeter, end-tidal carbon dioxide (ET-CO2) level, respiratory rate, tidal volume, and airflow. The chemoreceptor response was assessed by measuring minute ventilation and the ET-CO2 level after 5 minutes of breathing either room air or 4% carbon dioxide. Results. The gestational ages by obstetrical dating and examination of the infants were not different, although birth weights and birth lengths were lower in the group of ISAMs. Other demographic data were not different, and there were no differences in the infants' median ages at the time of study or in maternal use of tobacco and alcohol. The two groups had comparable baseline (room air) ET-CO2 levels, respiratory rates, tidal volumes, and minute ventilation. When compared with the group of ISAMs, the drug-free group had markedly increased tidal volume and minute ventilation on exposure to 4% carbon dioxide. These increases accounted for the difference in sensitivity to carbon dioxide, calculated as the change in minute ventilation per unit change in ET-CO2 (milliliters per kg/min per mm Hg). The sensitivity to carbon dioxide of control infants was 48.66 ± 7.14 (mean ± SE), whereas that of ISAMs was 16.28 ± 3.14. Conclusions. These data suggest that ISAMs are relatively insensitive to challenge by carbon dioxide during the first few days of life. We speculate that this reflects an impairment of the chemoreceptor response.


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