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The effects of barium concentration levels on the pulmonary inflammatory response in a rat model of aspiration

  • Laryngology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Barium sulfate (Ba) suspension is the most widely used contrast agent for upper gastrointestinal and videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS). The effect of Ba concentration on lung injury is uncertain. The aims of this study were to explore the effects of different barium concentrations on the respiratory organs and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these effects in an established animal model of aspiration.

Methods

Animal model study. Eight-week-old male Sprague–Dawley rats were allocated into three groups (n = 12, each group). Two groups underwent tracheal instillation of low (30% w/v) and high (60% w/v) concentration Ba (low-Ba, high-Ba). A control group was instilled with saline. Half of the animals were euthanized on day 2 and the remaining half were euthanized on day 30. Histological and gene analyses were performed.

Results

Both low-Ba and high-Ba aspiration caused inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung at 2 days post aspiration with an increase in the expression of inflammatory cytokines. At 30 days post aspiration, small quantities of barium particles remained in the lung of the low-Ba group without any inflammatory reaction. Chronic inflammation was recognized in the high-Ba group up to 30 days post aspiration.

Conclusion

A small amount of high concentration Ba (60% w/v) caused sustained inflammation in the rat lung at least 30 days after aspiration. Even with a small amount of low concentration Ba aspiration (30% w/v), Ba particles can remain in the lung over a month, causing sustained late effects.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (grant number 16K20231).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Rumi Ueha, Taku Sato, Takao Goto, Akihito Yamauchi & Tatsuya Yamasoba

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, The University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Nogah Nativ-Zeltzer & Peter C. Belafsky

Authors
  1. Rumi Ueha
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  2. Nogah Nativ-Zeltzer
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  3. Taku Sato
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  4. Takao Goto
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  5. Akihito Yamauchi
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  6. Peter C. Belafsky
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  7. Tatsuya Yamasoba
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Contributions

RU developed the concept, designed and performed the experiments, analyzed the data, produced the figures, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. TS, TG, and AY performed some of the experiments and analyzed the results. NZ, PB, and TY developed the concept, and designed the experiments. All authors contributed to interpretation of the data and writing of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rumi Ueha.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Ueha, R., Nativ-Zeltzer, N., Sato, T. et al. The effects of barium concentration levels on the pulmonary inflammatory response in a rat model of aspiration. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 277, 189–196 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05666-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05666-4

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