Lack of hematogenous mediated pulmonary injury with smoke inhalation.
Inhalation injury was studied in chronically prepared sheep (n = 12) by insufflating one lung with cotton smoke from burning cotton cloth. The contralateral lung was insufflated with air. There was also a sham group in which both lungs were insufflated with air (n = 6). The pulmonary status of the smoked animals gradually deteriorated; by 24 hours shunt blood flow had increased to 32 +/- 3% and the animals were sacrificed. Wet-weight/dry-weight ratios were elevated only in the smoke-exposed lungs. They likewise showed histologic evidence of injury. Lavage materials from the injured lungs had higher percentages of neutrophils than the others. The lung lesion produced by the inhalation of cotton smoke appears to be localized to the area of injury, rather than being a generalized pulmonary response.