Myocardial and Splenic Levels of Catecholamines in Burn Shock ∗

Summary

The norepinephrine and epinephrine content of ventricular cardiac muscle and spleen were analyzed in 2 groups of anesthetized white rats. One group served as controls, while the other group was subjected to burn shock induced by immersing the lower 1/2 of the body for 90 sec in water heated to 90°C. Myocardial norepinephrine and epinephrine levels of control rats averaged 0.74 ± 0.15 and 0.07 ± 0.06 μg/gm, respectively. In burn shock, norepinephrine decreased markedly to 0.26 ± 0.20 μg/gm (p <.003), while epinephrine rose to 0.24 ± 0.07 μg/gm (p<.003). On the other hand, splenic norepinephrine rose from 0.55 ± 0.15 to 1.02 ± 0.25 μg/gm (p<.05), while epinephrine content declined from 0.36 ± 0.12 to 0.09 ± 0.06 μg/gm (p<.003) in burn shock. Excessive sympathetic nervous system stimulation, or the formation of toxic substances may be involved in reducing norepinephrine stores of the myocardium in burn shock. Unlike the depletion of splenic norepinephrine in hemorrhagic shock, the norepinephrine content of the spleen rose. This finding together with postmortem observations of a soft and relaxed spleen would suggest a different role than that observed for this organ in hemorrhagic shock.