Intravenous omega-3, a technique to prevent an excessive innate immune response to cardiac surgery in a rodent gut ischemia model

Objectives Neutrophil infiltration of tissues as part of the inflammatory response to cardiac surgery is one of the major mediators of postoperative multiple-organ dysfunction. Omega-3 fatty acids markedly attenuate endothelial cell inflammatory responses, including upregulation of neutrophil adhesion molecules. The efficacy of a clinically safe form of omega-3 to produce this effect in vivo was examined. Methods Rat gut intravital microscopic analysis was used to visualize neutrophil transmigration from the microcirculation into the tissues of the gut. Inflammatory activation was in the form of 30 minutes of ischemia and 90 minutes of reperfusion. Sham, control (0.9% saline infusion over 4 hours), and omega-3 (Omegaven [Fresenius Kabi, Bad Homburg, Germany] infusion over 4 hours) pretreatments were compared. Results Ischemia–reperfusion resulted in a 4-fold increase in neutrophil adherence to the endothelium (baseline: 4.3 ± 0.2 vs control group: 19.2 ± 3.5 adherent neutrophils per 100 μm, P