Increased nitric oxide in exhaled gas as an early marker of lung inflammation in a model of sepsis.

Nitric Oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathologic vasodilation of sepsis. Because NO can be measured in the exhaled gas of animals and humans, we hypothesized that increases in exhaled NO would occur in a septic model. Using a blinded design, 10 male Sprague-Dawley rats (300 to 400 g) were anesthetized, paralyzed, tracheotomized, and randomized (5/group) to receive an intravenous injection of either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Salmonella …