Objective: In the heart, histamine H3 receptors may function as inhibitory presynaptic receptors that decrease adrenergic neural norepinephrine release in conditions of enhanced sympathetic tone. In a previous study, we found that H3 receptor blockade improved cardiac contractility and systemic hemodynamics in experimental bacteremia in dogs. Because histamine H3 receptors have been found in the splanchnic circulation in other animal models, it was not clear the extent to which H3 receptor blockade may have altered splanchnic hemodynamics, and variables of venous return, that in turn contributed to the overall improvement in systemic hemodynamics observed in the previous experiment. In the present study, we examined splanchnic hemodynamics in the presence of H3 receptor blockade in a canine model of Escherichia coli bacteremia.
Design: Bacteremia was produced by intravenous infusion of live E. coli administered throughout the experiment. Variables of venous return included mean systemic pressure, resistance to venous return, and mean right atrial pressure. Splanchnic measurements included hepatic and portal pressures and flows. Measurements were obtained before and after H3 receptor blockade with thioperamide maleate. The animals were studied while ventilated and anesthetized.
Results: H3 receptor blockade caused a decrease in mean right atrial pressure from 5.9 mm Hg pretreatment to 3.5 mm Hg posttreatment (p < .05), although it did not affect mean systemic pressure or resistance to venous return. There were no changes in portal or hepatic flows after H3 receptor blockade. The cardiac function curve after H3 receptor blockade was shifted upward and to the left compared with the pretreatment curve.
Conclusions: The results showed that the primary effect of H3 receptor blockade in experimental bacteremia was attributable to an increase in inotropy. There was no evidence to indicate that H3 receptor activation contributed to altered splanchnic hemodynamics in this model.