Oxpentifylline: Effects on red cell deformability and oxygen availability from the blood in intermittent claudication

In ten patients with intermittent claudication, Oxpentifyl1ine treatment was found to to have two effects beneficial to oxygen transport. It improved blood filterability ex vivo by 40% with presumed benefits to blood flow in vivo. Secondly, Oxpentifylline facilitated oxygen release from the blood by decreasing haemoglobin-oxygen (Hb–O₂) affinity. The P₅₀in vivo value rose by 1.8 mm Hg to 30.5 mm Hg, thus increasing oxygen availability per unit volume of blood by 4.7%. The ability to influence Hb–O₂ affinity using normal doses of a safe drug has not previously been described. The combination of improvements in both of these variables should markedly enhance tissue oxygen supply in patients treated with Oxpentifylline for intermittent claudication. This ability to improve blood flow and to increase oxygen release could have great significance in many other clinical disorders resulting from tissue hypoxia.