Intratracheal injection of nitric oxide, generated from air by pulsed electrical discharge, for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension in awake ambulatory lambs

Objectives: To test the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of intratracheal delivery of nitric oxide (NO) generated from air by pulsed electrical discharge via a Scoop catheter. Study design: We studied healthy 3- to 4-month-old lambs weighing 34 ± 4 kg (mean ± SD, n = 6). A transtracheal Scoop catheter was inserted through a cuffed tracheostomy tube. U46619 was infused to increase mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) from 16 ± 1 to 32 ± 3 mmHg (mean ± SD). Electrically generated NO was delivered via the Scoop catheter to awake lambs. A sampling line, to monitor NO and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels, was placed in the distal trachea of the lambs. The effect of varying doses of electrically generated NO, produced continuously, on pulmonary hypertension was assessed. Results: In awake lambs with acute pulmonary hypertension, NO was continuously delivered via the Scoop catheter at 400 ml/min. NO induced pulmonary vasodilation. NO2 levels, measured in the trachea, were below 0.5 ppm at intratracheal NO doses of 10–80 ppm. No changes were detected in the levels of methemoglobin in blood samples before and after 5 min of NO breathing. Conclusions: Continuously delivering electrically generated NO through a Scoop catheter produces vasodilation of the pulmonary vasculature of awake lambs with pulmonary hypertension. Transtracheal NO delivery may provide a long-term treatment for patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension as an outpatient without requiring a mask or tracheal intubation.