Barbiturate anaesthesia does not cause pulmonary densities in dogs: a study using computerized axial tomography.
The occurrence of roentgenological densities in dependent lung regions was studied in 28 mongrel dogs (mean weight 18.7 kg) during barbiturate anaesthesia and mechanical ventilation. The densities were analysed by means of computerized tomography, permitting transaxial projections of the thorax. Two dogs showed small densities in dependent lung regions, corresponding to 1% of the total intrathoracic area. In five dogs there were small areas of probably increased density, without sharp delineation, in dependent regions. The remaining 21 dogs (75%) exhibited no densities. The frequency of such densities was thus much lower than has been found in anaesthetized human subjects. Moreover, the densities were relatively smaller than those in man and qualitatively different. It is concluded that the development of dependent lung densities differs both quantitatively and qualitatively between dogs and human subjects.