This is the first study that explores the effects of hyperinflation on respiratory and hemodynamic parameters, lung morphology, as well as circulatory and pulmonary profile of inflammatory cytokine in a saline lavage-induced surfactant depleted rabbit model of ARDS with repeated OES undergoing mechanical ventilation. Thus, hyperinflation was found to worsen the respiratory parameter, lung morphology and expression of pulmonary TNF-α and IL-8 levels in the ARDS model undergoing mechanical ventilation with repeated OES.
Saline-lavage-induced lung injury model has been extensively investigated as an established model of ARDS [7,23,25,26], and the results of the present study are consistent with previous studies [7,23,26]. A previous review [27] suggested that it was relatively easier to use this model (cited here) for demonstrating ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) when the effects of repeated endotracheal suctioning, as well as hyperinflation were studied. This is because the baseline injury in the lung following saline lavage is not associated with severe morphological impairment in this model. However, a study [28] highlights some of the drawbacks of the saline lavage model, i.e., 1) the pathology of ARDS is not reproducible in the saline lavage model; 2) it is more recruitable than other models, 3) and the model’s impaired oxygenation greatly depends on PEEP and inspiratory airway pressure. Indeed, the severity and extent of lung injury at the baseline level with saline lavage in the current model might be different pathophysiologically from those of other established ARDS models, such as those induced by injection of oleic acid, and intra-tracheal instillation of Escherichia coli [29]. Thus, the current study has some limitations arising from the use of the experimental ARDS model in as far as translating the current data to a clinical setting.
Regarding the OES protocol in the present study, we strictly followed the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) guidelines [4]. Under such suctioning protocol, the present study was able to demonstrate the significant drop of arterial oxygenation after OES in ARDS model, as already shown in previous studies [7,23-26]. This fact implies that the stability and reproducibility of both experimental models, as well as the suctioning protocol in the current experimental protocol as consistent to previous studies. The most notable finding in the present study is the demonstration of further deterioration of arterial oxygenation by hyperinflation in ARDS animals undergoing mechanical ventilator support with repeated OES. Although there was a gradual reduction of oxygenation in OES with hyperinflation over time, a relatively sharp drop was observed in the early period of the experiment, notably between 1.5 h and 2 h. Such a pattern in reduction of arterial oxygenation by hyperinflation as revealed by the current study for now cannot be compared with other studies, as this is the first study using such an experimental design.
Although we do not know for now the exact mechanism that may mediate the additional drop in arterial oxygenation induced by hyperinflation in combination with OES, the higher peak inspiratory pressure in HI group at 3 h may suggest decreased lung compliance, which might be one of the contributing factors to the exacerbation of arterial oxygenation reduction. In addition, the severity of lung injury in ARDS with hyperinflation may also help explain further the hyperinflation-induced deterioration of arterial oxygenation in the current study.
In the histological analysis, hyperinflation deteriorated lung injury induced by OES, as was evident from the total injury score. Aggravation of lung edema by hyperinflation may have led to a decrease in lung compliance, as well as aeration of lung alveoli. Bronchiolar injury score was significantly elevated in three ARDS groups compared with Control group, and OES exacerbated the lung injury, as already demonstrated in the previous study [30]. Regarding the scoring derived from the hyaline membrane injury/degeneration, there was no significant difference among the four groups of current experimental setting, implying that the duration used in the current study is inadequate to cause any detrimental effect on the lung hyaline membrane formation.
In a number of studies, levels of TNF-alpha and IL-8 have been shown to be altered in ARDS models/subjects [23,31,32]. Accordingly, we found elevated expression of both TNA-alpha and IL-8 in the lung tissues of the present ARDS models. One of the crucial findings of the present study is that HI induced further expression of both pulmonary TNF-α and IL-8 levels in our experimental ARDS rabbit model. In contrast, in the present study, circulatory and pulmonary IL-1 levels were not found to be significantly different among the three groups with ARDS. Also, in our current results, IL-6 levels were not aggravated by hyperinflation in ARDS lung tissues like that of IL-1. Thus, from the current investigation of cytokine profile, hyperinflation only upregulates levels of pulmonary TNF-α and IL-8.
Based on the present data, here, we consider four possible mechanisms that were induced deterioration of oxygenation, histological lung injury, and cytokine release; namely barotrauma, volutrauma, atelectrauma and biotrauma. In our speculation, this locally up regulated pulmonary TNF-α and IL-8 levels induced by hyperinflation may potentially contribute to the development of biotrauma, one of the crucial components of ventilator-induced lung injury in the ARDS subjects undergoing mechanical ventilation [33,34]. If categorized sequentially or chronologically, based on their ability to cause lung injury, atelectrauma would be the first because of repetitive alveolar recruitment and derecruitment induced by the release of PEEP during hyperinflation [35]. The previous study showed that mechanical and cyclic stretch induced the expression of transcription factors related to the expression induction of interleukins through the signaling pathways of p38 and NF-κB [36]. If this previous result is applied to our current findings, hyperinflation may act as the cyclic stretch to stimulate further release of cytokines. Although we did not have any direct evidence regarding the occurrence of atelectrauma and/or volutrauma in the present study, we consider the possibility that hyperinflation performed in the present study may lead to atelectrauma and/or volutrauma. The previous studies showed that respiratory rate is very important in determining the magnitude of PaO2 oscillation [28], and that it is possible that cyclic recruitment is strongly related to atelectrauma [37]. The fact that a sharp drop in PaO2 was observed in the early period of our experiment (between 1.5 h and 2 h) in HI group, this observed drop in PaO2 may be due to the hyperinflation-mediated cyclic recruitment and derecruitment. Thus, to clarify these mechanisms and relationship, further study is necessary to determine the exact lung volume with specific device system and technology.
The current study has several potential limitations; 1) firstly, a surfactant-depleted ARDS rabbit model may not reflect conditions in human and saline lavage model itself has some limitations, as mentioned above; 2) secondly, several crucial respiratory parameters were lacking, notably, measured PEEP value, inspiration and expiration time, dynamic lung compliance, and the venous admixture (Qs/Qt); 3) thirdly, we were unable to measure the exact lung volume using electrical impedance tomography and/or computed tomography. Such assessment of lung volume might have explored the mechanism of the lung injury induced by HI; 4) fourthly, since the clinical use of hyperinflation in Japan may not be universal, the current study design is not necessarily the global standard; 5) further, the frequency of hyperinflation used in the current study design may not match that used in clinical settings, and it is different from the clinical setting because it is an animal study; 6) also, in order to have a clearer picture of the cytokine profile using the current study design, longer duration of OES and hyperinflation protocol may be necessary; 7) lastly, lung histological assessment and scoring should be performed under more reliable conditions, such as decreased levels of PEEP compared to that of the present study and non-edematous condition. Finally, as evident from the present study and also from other investigations, we concluded that repeated OES and hyperinflation under high PEEP deteriorates gas exchange. Further, the efficacy of repeated hyperinflation as a method/technology to recover oxygenation after OES is questioned and the necessity of performing hyperinflation should be re-assessed, re-visited and re-investigated. In addition, we consider that the potential mechanisms underlying the deterioration of arterial oxygenation and lung injury following hyperinflation in ARDS model should be investigated in depth in future studies.