Qunyan Wu, Jiaxin Chen, Qing Ye, Yongquan Huang, Shuqing Wang, Yuhong Lin, Shushan Zhang, Zhongzhen Su
{"title":"Establishment of Ultrasound Evaluation of Bubble Load in Rabbit Model with Decompression Sickness.","authors":"Qunyan Wu, Jiaxin Chen, Qing Ye, Yongquan Huang, Shuqing Wang, Yuhong Lin, Shushan Zhang, Zhongzhen Su","doi":"10.1177/10806032251320081","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>IntroductionTo establish a decompression sickness (DCS) model in New Zealand white rabbits and a quantitative method for assessing bubble load in DCS by ultrasound.MethodsFifteen male New Zealand white rabbits were exposed in a hyperbaric chamber for 60 min with air compressed to 500 kPa (absolute pressure) at 100 kPa/min, followed by decompression at a rate of 200 kPa/min back to normal pressure. Behavioral changes were observed 10 min after removing the rabbits from the chamber to assess whether a model with DCS was successfully established. Bubbles in the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right ventricle (RV) were detected by ultrasound and semi-quantitatively graded using the Eftedal-Brubakk (EB) grade. One hour after exiting the chamber, the rabbits underwent autopsy to observe macroscopic bubbles in vessels and tissues for postmortem (PM) scoring. Correlations between EB grading by ultrasound and PM bubble scores were analyzed.ResultsThe decompression protocol yielded a 100% DCS incidence (15/15) with 13.3% mortality (2/15) within 1 h after the rabbits were removed from the chamber. Ultrasound revealed bubble-like hyperechoic foci in the IVC and RV after decompression, with significantly higher EB grades in the IVC (<i>p </i>< 0.05). IVC's EB grades exhibited a stronger correlation with its PM bubble scores (<i>r </i>= 0.921, <i>p </i>< 0.01) compared to RV grades (<i>r</i> = 0.573, <i>p </i>< 0.05).ConclusionA reliable DCS model was established in New Zealand white rabbits. EB grading of the IVC and RV by ultrasound demonstrated a robust correlation with their PM bubble scores, suggesting potential for clinical translation in assessing bubble loads in DCS.</p>","PeriodicalId":49360,"journal":{"name":"Wilderness & Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"10806032251320081"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Wilderness & Environmental Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10806032251320081","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
IntroductionTo establish a decompression sickness (DCS) model in New Zealand white rabbits and a quantitative method for assessing bubble load in DCS by ultrasound.MethodsFifteen male New Zealand white rabbits were exposed in a hyperbaric chamber for 60 min with air compressed to 500 kPa (absolute pressure) at 100 kPa/min, followed by decompression at a rate of 200 kPa/min back to normal pressure. Behavioral changes were observed 10 min after removing the rabbits from the chamber to assess whether a model with DCS was successfully established. Bubbles in the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right ventricle (RV) were detected by ultrasound and semi-quantitatively graded using the Eftedal-Brubakk (EB) grade. One hour after exiting the chamber, the rabbits underwent autopsy to observe macroscopic bubbles in vessels and tissues for postmortem (PM) scoring. Correlations between EB grading by ultrasound and PM bubble scores were analyzed.ResultsThe decompression protocol yielded a 100% DCS incidence (15/15) with 13.3% mortality (2/15) within 1 h after the rabbits were removed from the chamber. Ultrasound revealed bubble-like hyperechoic foci in the IVC and RV after decompression, with significantly higher EB grades in the IVC (p < 0.05). IVC's EB grades exhibited a stronger correlation with its PM bubble scores (r = 0.921, p < 0.01) compared to RV grades (r = 0.573, p < 0.05).ConclusionA reliable DCS model was established in New Zealand white rabbits. EB grading of the IVC and RV by ultrasound demonstrated a robust correlation with their PM bubble scores, suggesting potential for clinical translation in assessing bubble loads in DCS.
期刊介绍:
Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, the official journal of the Wilderness Medical Society, is the leading journal for physicians practicing medicine in austere environments. This quarterly journal features articles on all aspects of wilderness medicine, including high altitude and climbing, cold- and heat-related phenomena, natural environmental disasters, immersion and near-drowning, diving, and barotrauma, hazardous plants/animals/insects/marine animals, animal attacks, search and rescue, ethical and legal issues, aeromedial transport, survival physiology, medicine in remote environments, travel medicine, operational medicine, and wilderness trauma management. It presents original research and clinical reports from scientists and practitioners around the globe. WEM invites submissions from authors who want to take advantage of our established publication''s unique scope, wide readership, and international recognition in the field of wilderness medicine. Its readership is a diverse group of medical and outdoor professionals who choose WEM as their primary wilderness medical resource.