[Respiratory and circulatory changes after the intratracheal infusion of bile acids in dogs].

We studied the effect of intratracheally infused bile acids on the respiratory and circulatory systems in anesthetized dogs. The bile acids used were cholic acid, deoxycholic acid, taurocholic acid, glycocholic acid and taurodeoxycholic acid. They were diluted to 1% or 10% with normal saline solution and 1 ml.kg-1 was infused into the trachea through an endotracheal tube under a controlled ventilation with air. Injection of 10% diluted bile acid, except for glycocholic acid, decreased PaO2 to less than 50 torr after 15 minutes and increased PaCO2 to above 60 torr after 2 hours. A butterfly shadow appeared in chest radiographs after 1 hour. Microscopic examinations revealed severe pulmonary edema and hemorrhage but circulatory depression was negligible. Hypoxia and hypercapnea were also observed in the 1% dilution group but to a smaller degree. Intrapulmonary water volume increased following injection of bile acid. Our results demonstrated that bile acids induce pulmonary damage.