• Lucas G Pantaleon, Martin O Furr, Harold C McKenzie, and Lydia Donaldson.
• Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, Virginia/ Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Leesburg, VA, USA. lucaspantaleon@hotmail.com
• J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2006 Nov 1; 20 (6): 1422-8.

BackgroundSmall volume resuscitation has been advocated as a beneficial therapy for endotoxemia in horses but this therapy has not been investigated in a prospective manner. The objective of this study was to determine the cardiopulmonary effects of small-volume resuscitation using hypertonic saline solution (HSS) plus Hetastarch (HES) during experimental endotoxemia in anesthetized horses.HypothesisTreatment of horses with induced endotoxemia using HES-HSS does not alter the response of various cardiopulmonary indices when compared to treatment with either small- or large-volume isotonic crystalloid solutions.AnimalsEighteen healthy horses were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups. Anesthesia was maintained with halothane. Endotoxemia was induced by administering 50 microg/kg of Escherichia coli endotoxin IV. The horses were treated over 30 minutes with 15 mL/kg of balanced polyionic crystalloid solution (control), 60 mL/kg of balanced polyionic crystalloid solution (ISO), or 5 mL/kg of HSS followed by 10 mL/kg of HES (HSS-HES).MethodsProspective randomized trial.ResultsCardiac output (CO) after endotoxin infusion increased significantly (P < .05) from baseline in all groups, whereas mean central venous pressure increased significantly (P < .05) in the ISO group only. Mean pulmonary artery pressure increased from baseline (P < .05) in horses treated with isotonic fluids and HSS-HES. There was no effect of treatment with HSS-HES on CO, systemic vascular resistance (SVR), mean arterial pressure, blood lactate concentrations, or arterial oxygenation.Conclusions And Clinical ImportanceThe use of HSS-HES failed to ameliorate the deleterious hemodynamic responses associated with endotoxemia in horses. The clinical value of this treatment in horses with endotoxemia remains unconfirmed.

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