Influence of the potassium concentration on functional and structural preservation of the lung: where is the optimum?

Abstract

The results obtained with two modifications of an extracorporeal model indicate that flush perfusion of the lung with a potassium-reduced solution results in better functional and structural preservation than flush perfusion with either high- or low-potassium solutions. The optimum may lie in the vicinity of 40 mmol/L. Further studies are necessary to verify these initial findings.