Potential use of warm butyl alcohol vapor as adjunct agent in the emergency treatment of sea water wet near-drowning.

Abstract

The short-term course of sea water wet near-drowning was studied in anesthetized rabbits breathing spontaneously. Therapeutic trials were incorporated using warm n-butyl alcohol vapor both in inspired air and in inspired oxygen. The purpose was to determine if butyl alcohol vapor might alleviate the hypoxemia of sea water aspiration, possibly by a defoaming action on the fine foam bubbles of alveolar origin in the lung edema even without tracheal foam being present. The findings from 20 rabbits without overt tracheal foam, that had aspirated 2.05 mL/kg of sea water and were placed 10-minutes postaspirationally into four different inhalational treatment groups, showed remarkable differences. Warm butyl alcohol vapor made by humidification of 7.5% solution at 31 degrees C alleviated the hypoxemia. With vapor treatment for 15 minutes, mean arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) was not significantly changed in the water vapor-air group, but increased significantly to 50.5 +/- 4.6, 70.0 +/- 8.9, and 146.7 +/- 40.7 mm Hg in the butanol/water vapor-air, water vapor-oxygen, and butanol/water vapor-oxygen groups, respectively. With treatment for 30 minutes, mean PaO2 increased to 248.3 +/- 38.0 mm Hg with butanol/water vapor-oxygen inhalations, but only to 91.2 +/- 9.8 mm Hg with 100% water vapor-oxygen inhalations. Thus, the inspired vapor of butanol was much more effective in elevation of arterial blood oxygen pressures when combined with oxygen therapy over the values found when 100% water vapor-oxygen treatments were given. Respiratory and cardiac depressant effects from inspired butanol were not evident.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

• Authors: W H Waugh
• Journal: The American journal of emergency medicine (Am J Emerg Med) Vol. 11 Issue 1 Pg. 20-7 (Jan 1993) ISSN: 0735-6757 [Print] United States
• PMID: 8447864 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Blood Glucose
• Blood Proteins
• Butanols
• Oxygen

Topics

• Acid-Base Equilibrium
• Animals
• Blood Glucose (analysis)
• Blood Proteins (chemistry)
• Butanols (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Female
• Hemodynamics
• Male
• Near Drowning (therapy)
• Oxygen (blood)
• Oxygen Inhalation Therapy (methods)
• Partial Pressure
• Pneumonia, Aspiration (etiology, therapy)
• Pulmonary Edema (etiology, therapy)
• Rabbits
• Respiration
• Seawater
• Volatilization