ALTERATIONS OF PORTAL VENOUS AND SYSTEMIC ARTERIAL PRESSURE DURING EXPERIMENTAL ACUTE PANCREATITIS

Experimental acute pancreatitis in dogs is associated with alterations of portal venous and/or systemic arterial hemodynamics. Trypsin or trypsin-blood incubation mixtures infused into the pancreatic ductal system produced a prompt elevation of portal pressure and simultaneous reduction of systemic arterial pressure. A variety of mechanisms may contribute to these changes, each of which is discussed. Intraductal infusions of lipase, lipase-blood incubates, or phospholipase-A were associated with less impressive changes in portal pressure whereas systemic hypotension was usually more pronounced. The explanation for these peripheral circulatory alterations is not entirely clear although phospholipase-A is a known central nervous system toxin and therefore may produce a generalized loss of vasomotor tone. The findings in this study indicate that a variety of enzymes or blood-enzyme incubation mixtures, which are potentially important in the initiation of pancreatitis, also cause profound changes in the circulation to and from the inflamed gland. Depending on the magnitude of this hemodynamic response, both portal hypertension and systemic hypotension can be expected to have an adverse effect on the course of the local inflammatory process. © 1969.