Hemolysis was found to depend on the VP applied and, to a much greater extent, on the amount of blood and air mixing. Increasing the VP above the recommended limit of 150 torr was not associated with inordinate hemolysis. Even when a VP as high as 300 torr was used, hemolysis ranged between 0.3 and 3.0 percent, depending on whether air was suctioned with the blood or not. The data support the idea that the lowest VP compatible with a clear surgical field should be used during intraoperative blood salvage and that the suctioning of air should be avoided as much as possible. These data also suggest that, in contrast to current recommendations, suction VP during intraoperative blood salvage can be increased up to 300 torr if required by the rate of bleeding, without causing excessive hemolysis.

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Certain actions of doxapram, administered alone and in combination with morphine, have been examined in the rabbit and the mouse. Single doses of doxapram were capable of stimulating respiration in both species. There was an increase in tidal volume in the rabbit and an increase in respiratory rate in the mouse. In both species the duration of action of single doses of doxapram was less than 15 min. In morphine-treated rabbits and mice single doses of doxapram affected neither the time course nor the intensity of the respiratory depression. In the rabbit repeated doses of doxapram did not produce tachyphylaxis with respect to the effect on tidal and minute volumes, and effectively reversed the respiratory depressant actions of morphine. The usefulness of this action must be balanced against the enhanced toxicity of doxapram observed in morphine-treated mice.

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