OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the recovery levels of pulmonary surfactants (PS) and lung compliance after whole-lung lavage.

METHODSPatients with pneumoconiosis in different stages (healthy subjects, stage I, and stage II, n = 10 for each group) were selected. The recovery levels of PS and lung compliance at different time points after whole-lung lavage were determined, and their relationship was analyzed.

RESULTSBefore whole-lung lavage and at 0, 10, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after the operation, the lung compliance levels were 39.5±6.7, 28.3±5.6, 31.5±5.2, 37.6±4.4, 38.0±5.3, 38.7±5.5, and 39.2±5.3 ml/cm H2O for healthy subjects, 38.8±5.1, 25.1±6.1, 28.4±6.8, 30.5±5.9, 36.3±5.5, 37.3±5.4, 38.2±4.5, and 38.8±5.1 ml/cm H2O for patients with stage I pneumoconiosis, and 32.9±6.1, 20.3±6.0, 24.3±5.4, 25.1±5.4, 26.8±5.8, 27.8±4.8, and 32.8±4.5 ml/cm H2O were for patients with stage II pneumoconiosis. It was observed that in patients with pneumoconiosis, the lung compliance levels showed a declining trend along with the increasing stage, reaching the lowest level in stage II patients; comparison between groups indicated a significant difference (P < 0.05). For healthy subjects, 30 min was needed for restoring lung compliance to its preoperative level, while 60 and 120 min were needed for stage I and stage II patients, respectively. Compared with that at 0 min after operation, PS levels were elevated significantly at 10 min after operation in all patients (P < 0.05), whereas for stage I and stage II patients, the PS levels at 30 min after operation were significantly higher than that at 10 min (F = 4.27, P < 0.05; F = 20.40, P < 0.05). For all patients, the PS levels at 60 min after operation were significantly higher than those at 10 and 30 min (P < 0.05). After whole-lung lavage, the PS levels in all patients were restored to a large extent within 10∼30 min, but the recovery of lung compliance needed 30∼ 90 min.

CONCLUSIONAfter whole-lung lavage, the lung compliance declines obviously, but recovers gradually afterwards; the higher stage suggests a longer recovery. The recovery of lung compliance needs a longer time than that of PS.