Date of Award

2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Physiology

Supervisor

Dr. Ruud Veldhuizen

Second Advisor

Dr. James Lewis

Third Advisor

Dr. Fred Possmayer

Abstract

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) carries a mortality rate of approximately 30% and is characterized by poor oxygenation, decreased lung compliance, and pulmonary edema. The first study in this thesis examined the combination of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFO) and exogenous surfactant treatment in an acid- induced lung injury model in rats. It was hypothesized that HFO and surfactant combined is superior to either intervention individually. The second study tested whether surfactant supplementation with a polymer called chitosan would improve surfactant treatment in the same acid model. It was hypothesized that chitosan added to surfactant would be superior to surfactant treatment alone. HFO significantly improved oxygenation compared to CMV regardless of surfactant treatment, but surfactant improved oxygenation during CMV. Surfactant supplementation with chitosan worsened lung injury compared to surfactant alone. It was found that neither the combination of HFO and surfactant nor chitosan improved the response to exogenous surfactant therapy.

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