Effects of ultra-purified polymerized bovine hemoglobin on local tissue oxygen tension in striated skin muscle - An efficacy study in the hamster

The development of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers has been
propagated for replacement of the oxygen carrying properties of red
blood cells for almost one century. Using a Clark-type multi-wire
oxygen surface electrode and the dorsal skin fold chamber model of
the awake Syrian golden hamster, local tissue pO(2) was analyzed in
the thin striated skin muscle before and after administration of an
ultrapurified polymerized bovine hemoglobin solution (U-PBHb(R),
Biopure Corp., Boston, Mass., USA) under the following experimental
conditions: (a) hypervolemic infusion with U-PBHb at similar to 10%
of calculated blood volume, and (b) isovolemic exchange transfusion
with U-PBHb by replacing similar to50% of calculated blood volume.
Control animals of group a received equivalent treatment with
either isotonic saline or dextran 60, control animals of group b
received dextran 60. Local tissue pO(2) was found slightly
decreased after both hypervolemic infusion and isovolemic exchange
transfusion with U-PBHb, while frequency distribution curves of
local tissue pO(2) were found more narrow (less values 25 mm Hg), suggesting a more homogeneous tissue pO(2)
distribution. The data thus indicate that U-PBHb slightly decreases
mean tissue pO(2) after both hypervolemic infusion and isovolemic
exchange transfusion which is accompanied by an effective
homogenization of local tissue pO(2) distribution as compared to
dextran 60. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.