Effects of Norepinephrine on the Intestinal Vascular System in Rabbits With Endotoxic Shock

We hypothesized that jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow would decrease following norepinephrine (NE) administration in endotoxic shock. We aimed of this study to evaluate changes in superior mesenteric venous (SMV) blood flow and jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow of the intestinal vascular system over time by administration of NE in rabbits with endotoxic shock. We created four groups (n = 8 each): control group, lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 mg/kg) group, NE (2 mu g/kg/min) group, and LPS+NE group. As indicators of circulation, we measured mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), cardiac output, SMV blood flow, and jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow every 30 min from 0 to 240 min. The drop in MAP observed in the LPS group was suppressed by NE administration. SMV blood flow dropped temporarily with LPS administration, but then rose thereafter. Administration of NE to the LPS group suppressed the transient decline in SMV blood flow, which did not drop below that of the control group. In the LPS group, jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow transiently dropped and then rose, reflecting the pattern in SMV blood flow. In the LPS+NE group, however, although there was no drop in SMV blood flow, jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow remained low. An interaction between NE and LPS was observed regarding jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow from 90 to 180 min (P = 0.033). We showed that NE maintained MAP and SMV blood flow but decreased jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow. In a rabbit model of endotoxic shock, NE had a negative effect on jejunal mucosal tissue blood flow.