Study of platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase in the perioperative period of patients undergoing cardiac surgery

This study was conducted to determine whether brief, intermittent exposure to hypoxia with little change in nutrient intake would affect fetal growth. Pregnant rats were exposed to 1 or 2 h of hypoxia (FiO2 = 0.09-0.095) from days 15 to 19 of gestation. Exposure to 1 h of hypoxia decreased fetal body weight and length, liver weight and increased the brain/liver weight ratio (p < 0.05) as compared to controls. Two hours of hypoxia decreased fetal body weight and length, and heart, lung, kidney, gut, brain and liver weights (p < 0.01), but did not affect the brain/liver weight ratio. Two hours of hypoxia decreased maternal food intake and weight gain (p < 0.05), but fetal growth was not significantly altered in pair-fed controls. These data demonstrate that brief, intermittent periods of intrauterine hypoxia have significant effects on fetal growth.