Regional blood flow during continuous low-dose endotoxin infusion

Escherichia coli endotoxin (ET) was administered to adult rats by continuous IV infusion from a subcutaneously implanted osmotic pump (Alzet). Cardiac output and regional blood flow were determined by the radiolabeled microsphere method after 6 and 30 hr of ET or saline infusion. Cardiac output (CO) of ET rats was not different from time-matched controls, whereas arterial pressure was 13% lower after 30 hr of infusion. After both 6 and 30 hr of ET, pancreatic blood flow and percentage of cardiac output were lower than in controls. Estimated portal venous flow was decreased at each time point, and an increased hepatic arterial flow (significant after 30 hr) resulted in an unchanged total hepatic blood flow. Blood flow to most other tissues, including epididymal fat, muscle, kidneys, adrenals, and gastrointestinal tract, was similar between treatments. Maintenance of blood flow to metabolically important tissues indicates that the previously reported alterations in in vitro cellular metabolism are not due to tissue hypoperfusion. Earlier observations of in vitro mycoardial dysfunction, coexistent with the significant impairment in pancreatic flow, raise the possibility that release of a myocardial depressant factor occurs not only in profound shock but also under less severe conditions of sepsis and endotoxemia.