An experimental study of pulmonary damage associated with intravenous injection of halothane in dogs

ABSTRACT

Holothane was injected intravenously into two groups of dogs and the effects on the lungs noted. The nine dogs of group I were unanaesthetized and received no ventilatory support following injection. The dogs were killed at varying time intervals after injection and the macroscopic and microscopic appearances were studied. In the six dogs of group II the the chests were open and they were artificially ventilated with 30 per cent oxygen and 70 per cent nitrous oxide at the time of injection. Serial biopsies were taken. The predominant lesions produced were generalized oedema and patchy alveolar haemorrhages. These changes were more severe in dogs of group I. The aetiology is conjectural, possibly being due to direct capillary damage or to embolization. The danger of accidental intravenous injection of halothane, a not unknown occurrence, is stressed (AU)