Extracorporeal circulation in pregnancy: report of a case. Update and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of platelet activating factor (PAF) in the hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen of 30 male Wistar rats were exposed to hypoxia for 3 weeks, and another 15 rats served as controls. The pulmonary arterial pressure was examined by catheterization. The sections of rat lung were treated by the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method to expose the location of PAF. RESULTS: The rats developed pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy after hypoxic exposure. Under the light microscope, PAF is distributed on the vascular and alveolar walls of normal lung, and the content of PAF in the lung of rats with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension are remarkably higher than those of normoxic controls. CONCLUSIONS: PAF plays not only a physiological role in the rat lung, but also a pathophysiologic role in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.