Maturational differences in step vs. ramp hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses

1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 1968-1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gozal ◽  
R. Arens ◽  
K. J. Omlin ◽  
C. L. Marcus ◽  
T. G. Keens

The influence of the speed of stimulus presentation on hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses (step vs. ramp) is not known. Furthermore, it is unclear whether children and adults respond similarly. We tested ramp ventilatory responses to hypercapnia and hypoxia with use of rebreathing in 8 prepubertal children and 11 adults. We tested step ventilatory responses to hypercapnia with single vital capacity breaths of 15% CO2 in O2 and to hypoxia with five tidal breaths of 100% N2. For children, slopes of step hypercapnic ventilatory responses were always greater than those of ramp responses (0.85 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.71 +/- 0.07 l.min-1.Torr end-tidal PCO2-1; P < 0.0005). Conversely, for adults, step responses were always less than ramp responses (0.88 +/- 0.19 vs. 2.10 +/- 0.29 l.min-1.Torr end-tidal PCO2-1; P < 0.0007). Similarly, for children, the slopes of step hypoxic ventilatory responses were always greater than those of ramp responses (-0.71 +/- 0.09 vs. -0.45 +/- 0.04 l.min-1.Torr O2 saturation-1; P < 0.02), and for adults, step responses were always less than ramp responses (-0.68 +/- 0.14 vs. -1.85 +/- 0.46 l.min-1.Torr O2 saturation-1; P < 0.04). We conclude that ventilatory responses vary depending on step vs. ramp presentation of hypercapnia or hypoxia and that the ratio of these responses is reversed in children compared with adults. We speculate that the responsiveness of peripheral chemoreceptors is increased in children compared with adults and that it may play a role in the mechanisms leading to increased ventilatory responses observed during childhood.

1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Marcus ◽  
W. B. Glomb ◽  
D. J. Basinski ◽  
S. L. Davidson ◽  
T. G. Keens

The developmental pattern of ventilatory responses, through childhood and puberty into adulthood, is not known. Therefore we studied hypercapnic (HCVR) and hypoxic ventilatory responses (HOVR) in 59 subjects (29 males and 30 females) 4–49 yr of age, of whom 35 were children ( < 18 yr old). There was a significant correlation between HCVR and weight (r = 0.33, P < 0.02), vital capacity (r = 0.30, P < 0.05), and body surface area (r = 0.30, P < 0.05) but not height (r = 0.22, NS). There was no correlation between HOVR and any of the correcting factors. To account for disparities in body size, volume-related results were scaled for body weight. The HCVR corrected for weight (HCVR/WT) decreased with age (r = -0.57, P < 0.001). HCVR/WT was significantly higher in children than in adults (0.056 +/- 0.024 vs. 0.032 +/- 0.015 l.kg-1 x min-1. Torr end-tidal PCO2-1, P < 0.001). The (tidal volume/inspiratory duration)/weight, respiratory rate, and heart rate responses to hypercapnia were increased in the children, and the CO2 threshold was lower (36 +/- 5 vs. 40 +/- 6 Torr, P < 0.05). Similarly, the HOVR corrected for weight (HOVR/WT) decreased with age (r = 0.34, P < 0.05), and HOVR/WT was significantly higher in children than in adults (-0.035 +/- 0.017 vs. -0.024 +/- 0.016 l.kg-1 x min-1.% arterial O2 saturation-1, P < 0.02). The respiratory rate and heart rate responses to hypoxia were increased in the children. We conclude that rebreathing HCVR and HOVR are higher during childhood than during adulthood.


1986 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1894-1899 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Aitken ◽  
J. L. Franklin ◽  
D. J. Pierson ◽  
R. B. Schoene

Hypoxic (HVR) and hypercapnic (HCVR) ventilatory responses are influenced by both metabolic activity and hormonal factors. By studying 67 subjects of both sexes, including those at the extremes of stature, we examined the influence of gender, CO2 production (VCO2), O2 consumption (VO2), body surface area (BSA), and vital capacity (VC) on resting ventilation (VE), HVR, and HCVR. We measured resting VE, VO2, and VCO2 and then performed isocapnic progressive hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses. The effect of stature was reflected in higher VE and metabolic rate (both P less than 0.001) in tall men compared with short men that was ablated by correction for BSA. Perhaps because their heights vary less than those of the men, tall women were not statistically distinguishable from short women in any of these measured parameters. Tall men tended to have greater hypoxic chemosensitivity than short men but this was not significantly different (P = 0.07). Gender affected the control of ventilation in a number of ways. Men had higher VE (P less than 0.05) and metabolic rate (P less than 0.001) than women. Even after correction for BSA men still had higher metabolic rates. Women had higher VE/VCO2 than men (P less than 0.05) and lower resting end-tidal Pco2 (PETCO2) values (P less than 0.05). Both A, the shape parameter of the hyperbolic HVR curve, and HVR determined from mouth occlusion pressure (AP) were greater in women than in men, although only AP reached statistical significance. However, corrections of A for BSA (P less than 0.05), VCO2 (P less than 0.01), and VC (P less than 0.001) amplified these differences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1982 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Juratsch ◽  
B. J. Whipp ◽  
D. J. Huntsman ◽  
M. M. Laks ◽  
K. Wasserman

To determine the role of the peripheral chemoreceptors in mediating the hyperpnea associated with acute, nonocclusive inflation of a balloon in the main pulmonary artery of the conscious dog, we performed balloon inflations in awake and lightly anesthetized (chloralose-urethan) dogs before and after a) bilateral carotid body resection (CBR), b) cervical vagotomy (V), and c) after both CBR and V. In the intact awake state, balloon inflation increased VE from a mean of 4.91 to 7.16 1/min, usually within 1.5–2.0 min. Mean arterial PO2 decreased from 82 to 71 Torr and end-tidal PCO2 was reduced by 6 Torr. Arterial PCO2 and pH were unchanged in the steady state (as evidenced by discrete blood samples), even in those dogs in which VE increased up to 7.5 1/min. However, an indwelling PCO2 electrode in the femoral artery demonstrated a consistent transient elevation of arterial PCO2 prior to the steady state regulation. Vagotomy alone did not impair the ability to regulate PCO2 during balloon inflation. In some cases with CBR alone, arterial PCO2 was regulated at control levels in the steady state, but the transient increase during the early phase of balloon inflation was more marked (mean increase, 2 Torr). We conclude that the peripheral chemoreceptors are responsible for a significant component of the dynamic ventilatory behavior during this early phase (1.5–2.0 min) of acute maldistribution of VA/Q.


1993 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gozal ◽  
C. L. Marcus ◽  
D. Shoseyov ◽  
T. G. Keens

In children with the congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), some patients require mechanical ventilation during sleep, whereas others need respiratory assistance even when awake. The cause of this disparity is unclear. We hypothesized that differences in peripheral chemoreceptor response (PCR) could provide an explanatory mechanism for this disparity in clinical manifestations. PCR was measured in five children with CCHS and five sex- and age-matched controls by measuring the ventilatory responses induced by 100% O2 breathing, five tidal breaths of 100% N2, and vital capacity breaths of 5% and 15% CO2 in O2 and 5% CO2–95% N2. Tidal breathing of 100% O2 resulted in similar ventilatory responses in CCHS patients and controls with various changes dependent on the method of analysis of response used. Acute hypoxia by N2 tidal breathing resulted in a 39.2 +/- 22% increase in respiratory rate in CCHS patients and a 15.1 +/- 11.1% increase in controls (P < 0.05), with similar increases in minute ventilation (VE) of 124 +/- 69% and 85 +/- 11%, respectively. Vital capacity breaths of each of the CO2-containing gas mixtures induced similar increases in VE in CCHS patients and controls. The changes in VE obtained with 15% CO2–85% O2 and with 5% CO2–95% N2 were significantly greater than those with 5% CO2–95% O2, suggesting a dose-dependent response as well as additive effects of hypercapnic and hypoxic stimuli. We conclude that the PCR, when assessed by acute hypoxia, hyperoxia, or hypercapnia, is present and intact in CCHS children who are able to sustain adequate ventilation during wakefulness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1673-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Morelli ◽  
M. Safwan Badr ◽  
Jason H. Mateika

We hypothesized that the acute ventilatory response to carbon dioxide in the presence of low and high levels of oxygen would increase to a greater extent in men compared with women after exposure to episodic hypoxia. Eleven healthy men and women of similar race, age, and body mass index completed a series of rebreathing trials before and after exposure to eight 4-min episodes of hypoxia. During the rebreathing trials, subjects initially hyperventilated to reduce the end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PetCO2) below 25 Torr. Subjects then rebreathed from a bag containing a normocapnic (42 Torr), low (50 Torr), or high oxygen gas mixture (150 Torr). During the trials, PetCO2 increased while the selected level of oxygen was maintained. The point at which minute ventilation began to rise in a linear fashion as PetCO2 increased was considered to be the carbon dioxide set point. The ventilatory response below and above this point was determined. The results showed that the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide above the set point was increased in men compared with women before exposure to episodic hypoxia, independent of the oxygen level that was maintained during the rebreathing trials (50 Torr: men, 5.19 ± 0.82 vs. women, 4.70 ± 0.77 l·min−1·Torr−1; 150 Torr: men, 4.33 ± 1.15 vs. women, 3.21 ± 0.58 l·min−1·Torr−1). Moreover, relative to baseline measures, the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide in the presence of low and high oxygen levels increased to a greater extent in men compared with women after exposure to episodic hypoxia (50 Torr: men, 9.52 ± 1.40 vs. women, 5.97 ± 0.71 l·min−1·Torr−1; 150 Torr: men, 5.73 ± 0.81 vs. women, 3.83 ± 0.56 l·min−1·Torr−1). Thus we conclude that enhancement of the acute ventilatory response to carbon dioxide after episodic hypoxia is sex dependent.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 692-697
Author(s):  
R. J. Smyth ◽  
K. R. Chapman ◽  
T. A. Wright ◽  
J. S. Crawford ◽  
A. S. Rebuck

Adolescents with mild, asymptomatic scoliosis (thoracic curvature &lt;35°) may have little or no impairment of resting lung volumes. Progression to more severe disease may, however, be accompanied by lung restriction, impaired exercise tolerance, and respiratory failure with CO2 retention. We wished to see whether adolescents with mild scoliosis and minimally abnormal resting pulmonary mechanics had impairment of their responses to hypercapnia, hypoxia, and progressive cycle exercise. Forty-four adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis were studied. The mean forced vital capacity (FVC), expressed as a percentage of the predicted value, was 94.3 ± 2.2 (SE). The mean ventilatory response to hypercapnia (2.57 ± 0.24 L/min/mm Hg) was within the normal range but was achieved with a tidal volume response (1.87 ± .17% vital capacity [VC]/mm Hg) that was significantly lower than that previously reported in healthy young adults. Ventilatory responses to exercise were also within the normal range, the mean dyspnea index (VE-max/maximal voluntary ventilation) = 0.92 ± 0.04. However, at a ventilation of 30 L/min, the tidal volume was 0.38 ± 0.01% FVC, which was considerably lower than predicted. The tidal volume response to hypoxia was also abnormally low, the mean response being 0.52 ± 0.059% VC/% decrease in arterial O2 saturation. These findings indicated that, even when scoliosis is asymptomatic and associated with minimal impairment of resting pulmonary function, abnormal patterns of ventilation occur during exercise or in response to chemical stimuli.


1980 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1083-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Casaburi ◽  
R. W. Stremel ◽  
B. J. Whipp ◽  
W. L. Beaver ◽  
K. Wasserman

The effects of hyperoxia on ventilatory and gas exchange dynamics were studied utilizing sinusoidal work rate forcings. Five subjects exercised on 14 occasions on a cycle ergometer for 30 min with a sinusoidally varying work load. Tests were performed at seven frequencies of work load during air or 100% O2 inspiration. From the breath-by-breath responses to these tests, dynamic characteristics were analyzed by extracting the mean level, amplitude of oscillation, and phase lag for each six variables with digital computer techniques. Calculation of the time constant (tau) of the ventilatory responses demonstrated that ventilatory kinetics were slower during hyperoxia than during normoxia (P less than 0.025; avg 1.56 and 1.13 min, respectively). Further, for identical work rate fluctuations, end-tidal CO2 tension fluctuations were increased by hyperpoxia. Ventilation during hyperoxia is slower to respond to variations in the level of metabolically produced CO2, presumably because hyperoxia attenuates carotid body output; the arterial CO2 tension is consequently less tightly regulated.


1994 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sato ◽  
J. W. Severinghaus ◽  
P. Bickler

Hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) and hypoxic ventilatory depression (HVD) were measured in six subjects before, during, and after 12 days at 3,810-m altitude (barometric pressure approximately 488 Torr) with and without 15 min of preoxygenation. HVR was tested by 5-min isocapnic steps to 75% arterial O2 saturation measured by pulse oximetry (Spo2) at an isocapnic PCO2 (P*CO2) chosen to set hyperoxic resting ventilation to 140 ml.kg-1.min-1. Hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR, 1.min-1.Torr-1) was tested at ambient and high SPO2 6–8 min after a 6- to 10-Torr step increase of end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2) above P*CO2. HCVR was independent of preoxygenation and was not significantly increased at altitude (when corrected to delta logPCO2). Preoxygenated HVR rose from -1.13 +/- 0.23 (SE) l.min-1.%SPO2(-1) at sea level to -2.17 +/- 0.13 by altitude day 12, without reaching a plateau, and returned to control after return to sea level for 4 days. Ambient HVR was measured at P*CO2 by step reduction of SPO2 from its ambient value (86–91%) to approximately 75%. Ambient HVR slope was not significantly less, but ventilation at equal levels of SPO2 and PCO2 was lower by 13.3 +/- 2.4 l/min on day 2 (SPO2 = 86.2 +/- 2.3) and by 5.9 +/- 3.5 l/min on day 12 (SPO2 = 91.0 +/- 1.5; P < 0.05). This lower ventilation was estimated (from HCVR) to be equivalent to an elevation of the central chemoreceptor PCO2 set point of 9.2 +/- 2.1 Torr on day 2 and 4.5 +/- 1.3 on day 12.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1975 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Rebuck ◽  
M. Betts ◽  
N. A. Saunders

Ventilatory responses to isocapnic hypoxia, with and without an inspiratory elastic load (12.1 cmH2O/l), were measured in seven healthy subjects using a rebreathing technique. During each experiment, the end-tidal PCO2 was held constant using a variable-speed pump to draw gas from the rebreathing bag through a CO2 absorbing bypass. Studies with and without the load were performed in a formally randomized order for each subject. Linear regressions for rise in ventilation against fall in SaO2 were calculated. The range of unloaded responses was 0.74–1.38 1/min per 1% fall in SaO2 and loaded responses 0.71–1.56 1/min per 1% fall in SaO2. Elastic loading did not significantly alter the ventilatory response to progressive hypoxia (P greater than 0.2). In all subjects there was, however, a change in breathing pattern during loading, whereby increments in ventilation were attained by smaller tidal volumes and higher frequencies than in the control experiments. These results support the hypothesis previously proposed in our studies of resistive loading during progressive hypoxia, that a similar control pathway appears to be involved in response to the application of loads to breathing, whether ventilation is stimulated by hypoxia or hypercapnia.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1520-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Tanaka ◽  
T. Morikawa ◽  
Y. Honda

Breathing pattern and steady-state CO2 ventilatory response during mouth breathing were compared with those during nose breathing in nine healthy adults. In addition, the effect of warming and humidification of the inspired air on the ventilatory response was observed during breathing through a mouthpiece. We found the following. 1) Dead space and airway resistance were significantly greater during nose than during mouth breathing. 2) The slope of CO2 ventilatory responses did not differ appreciably during the two types of breathing, but CO2 occlusion pressure response was significantly enhanced during nose breathing. 3) Inhalation of warm and humid air through a mouthpiece significantly depressed CO2 ventilation and occlusion pressure responses. These results fit our observation that end-tidal PCO2 was significantly higher during nose than during mouth breathing. It is suggested that a loss of nasal functions, such as during nasal obstruction, may result in lowering of CO2, fostering apneic spells during sleep.


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