SH Nong, YM Xie, XS Huang

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effects of resuscitation using room air or oxygen on hypoxic damage of fetal rat brains. Methods: Thirty-five fetal rats of 20-day gestational age were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation (control, n=11), room-air resuscitation (n=10), and oxygen (concentration 92.8%) resuscitation (n=14). Fetal rats in the latter two groups suffered from ischemia and hypoxia inutero resulting from interruption of placental circulation. After recirculation, intra- and extra-cellular concentrations of calcium, sodium, and potassium in the brains were measured in each group. Results: Intracellular free calcium concentration of fetal rat brains was similar between the room-air resuscitation group (552.08±93.50 nmol/L) and the oxygen resuscitation group (520.61±79.08 nmol/L), and both were significantly higher than that in the control (315.27±86.88 nmol/L) (P<0.001). There was no difference in the total concentrations of calcium, sodium, or potassium among the three groups. Conclusion: Resuscitation with room air or 92.8% oxygen had a similar effect on the parameters measured, suggesting that resuscitation of asphyxiated neonates using room air might not be inferior to that using high-concentration oxygen.