Small-volume resuscitation with HBOC-201: effects on cardiovascular parameters and brain tissue oxygen tension in an out-of-hospital model of hemorrhage in swine.

This experimental observational study reports that, in anesthetized pigs undergoing hemorrhage, small volume resuscitation (6 mL/kg) of a bovine hemoglobin based oxygen carrier can restore mean arterial pressure and cardiac output while improving brain oxygen tension.

– Philippe Van der Linden

This is a second article on the effect of HBOC-201 for the acute treatment of hemorrhagic shock in swine. In this model, 7 swines were submitted to hemorrhagic shock and the sequence of the experiment was designed to reproduce out-of-hospital resuscitation. A small dose (6 mL/kg) of HBOC-201 improved cardiac output and mean arterial pressure. More importantly, brain tissue oxygen tension was not only restored but surpassed baseline values by 66%.

We can only hope that these favorable results will be reproduced, eventually, in humans.

– Jean-Franois Hardy