Alteration of Blood During Acute Hypotension: Effect of Continuous Glass Wool Filtration

Acute hypotension was produced in heparinized and nonheparinized dogs by hemorrhage and by injections of histamine, and adhesiveness and aggregation of blood elements determined periodically by the screen filtration pressure method. This method measures the pressure required to force blood at a constant rate through a standardized screen with multiple square holes each 20 × 20 micra. In some cases the arterial blood was perfused through a glass wool filter in an extracorporeal system both before and during periods of hypotension. The results of these studies justify the following conclusions:1. Increased adhesiveness and aggregation of platelets and other blood elements which occur during hypotension produced by hemorrhage or intravenous injections of histamine were indicated by an increase in the screen filtration pressure of blood. These changes were not prevented from developing, or significantly altered by heparinization of the animal.2. The amount of blood which could be obtained during arterial hemorrhage was significantly increased by heparinization of the animal.3. The adhesive and aggregated platelets and leucocytes, which formed during hypotension, were removed from the blood when it was perfused through a column of glass wool. This treatment was attended by a decrease in the screen filtration pressure of the blood to or below normal.4. The increase in screen filtration pressure which occurred during hypotension was much less marked if the animalsʼ blood had first been circulated through pyrex glass wool.5. Filtration of blood through pyrex glass wool was also attended by a progressive decrease in the mean arterial blood pressure of the animal.