Effects of oxygen inhalation in ascitic cirrhotic patients: Therapeutic implications?
Jens H. Henriksen – 1 October 1990 – In patients with cirrhosis, O2 uptake, i.e., O2 consumption, is abnormally deceased. We administered 50% O2 for 30 min in eight patients with alcoholic cirrhosis to determine whether the subsequent increase in arterial O2 content may correct the low O2 consumption. In addition, we studied in these patients the reflex control of cardiac output and blood pressure by arterial baroreceptors, as O2 inhalation induces a systemic vasoconstriction.