Significance of Splenectomy in Experimental Swine Models of Controlled Hemorrhagic Shock.

摘要

Animal models of hemorrhagic shock are the cornerstone in understanding the complexities of molecular and cellular milieu associated with hemorrhage and in searching for new therapies. In the swine hemorrhage model, splenectomy is at times performed as part of the experimental procedure as in the recent article by Kheirabadi in which the authors used splenectomized swine to assess the efficacy of a Combat Ready Clamp to control hemorrhage and blood loss. Splenectomy has been advocated based on the notion that during hemorrhage, there is a release of variable amounts of sequestered erythrocytes, clotting factors, and platelets from the spleen. However, the necessity of splenectomy for a robust model of hemorrhageis not unanimously established, and a large number of experimental hemorrhage studies have been conducted in nonsplenectomized animals. In a letter to the editor, Devlin raised the question related to the necessity of splenectomy in these animal models and additionally stated that splenectomy may introduce a more confounding variable than what researchers are seeking to avoid with the procedure."