Abstract
Summary
Experiments with rats indicate that: (i) hydrocortisone sodium succinate (HC) and methylprednisolone sodium succine (MP) enhance survival after hemorrhage; (ii) MP is approximately 10-times more potent than HC; (iii) both HC and MP are more efficacious if administered prior to hemorrhage; (iv) efficacy of post-shock therapy with both steroids is not only time- but dose-dependent; and (v) HC and MP can ameliorate or completely prevent the early RES phagocytic depression observed in circulatory shock. Overall, these data could be used to suggest that: (i) the RES may play a pivotal role in the beneficial actions of synthetic adrenocorticosteroids in circulatory shock, and (ii) numerical RES phagocytic indices may be diagnostic and prognostic parameters in circulatory shock therapy.
The author wishes to express his thanks to Mrs. J. Hanley and Mr. R. W. Burton for their technical assistance. We are grateful to Marvin Berkowitz of the UpJohn Company for generously providing us with the Solu-Cortef and Solu-Medrol used in these studies.
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