Inhaled activated protein C: a novel therapy for acute lung injury?
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* Corresponding author: Michael A Matthay michael.matthay@ucsf.edu
1 Divisions of Nephrology and Critical Care Medicine, Departments of Medicine and Anesthesia, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0624, USA
2 Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Departments of Medicine and Anesthesia, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0624, USA
Critical Care 2009, 13:150 doi:10.1186/cc7869
Published: 21 May 2009Abstract
Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by the presence of dysregulated coagulation and inflammation. Therefore, Waerhaug and colleagues hypothesized that administration of activated protein C (APC) via the inhaled route would be a novel and effective treatment for ALI. They demonstrated that inhaled APC improved oxygenation and lung aeration in a sheep model of lipopolysaccharide-induced ALI, but did not alter lung water or hemodynamics. Future studies are needed to determine plasma and airspace APC levels when administered by the inhaled route, and to determine if inhaled APC has a similar effect in other models of ALI.