Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has shown promising results in some models of ischemia, the major effect being a reduction in the local ischemic damage. The present study investigated the effects of HBO treatment on neutrophil activation and leukosequestration during reperfusion following intestinal ischemia in a rat model. The superior mesenteric artery was clamped for 2 h and subsequently reperfused for 90 min. One group of male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 9) was given HBO and another group (n = 9) served as controls. Prior to ischemia, leukocytes and erythrocytes were separated, radiolabelled with ¹¹¹ln and ⁵¹Cr, respectively, and reinfused. Leukocyte transit factor, the ratio between the mean passage time of leukocytes and erythrocytes was used to quantitate leukosequestration and the fraction of circulating, spontaneously nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)-reducing neutrophils was used to measure the degree of neutrophil preactivation. HBO treatment reduced the level of leukocyte pooling significantly, especially in the lungs but also, to a minor degree, in the systemic vascular bed. The percentage of NBT-positive cells increased in all animals after reperfusion, but the increase was significantly reduced by HBO treatment. In conclusion, HBO treatment reduces leukosequestration and neutrophil preactivation following intestinal ischemia-reperfusion.

Treatment of Popliteal Aneurysm by Open and Endovascular Surgery: A Contemporary Study of 592 Procedures in Sweden Cervin, A.; Tjarnstrom, J.; Ravn, H.; Acosta, Stefan; Hultgren, R.; Welander, M.; Bjorck, M.

Objective: There are limited contemporary epidemiological data on the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in the general population. The aim was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis among 65-year-old men. Methods: This was a population-based screening study. All 65-yearold men in the County of Uppsala, Sweden, who attended screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) 2007e2009, were invited for duplex scanning of the carotid arteries. Results: Of 4801 men invited, 4657 (97%) accepted. Carotid plaques (>2 Â 6 mm) were observed in 1169 (25%) men, 94 (2.0%) had carotid stenoses (50e99%), and 15 (0.3%) had occluded carotid arteries. In a multivariate logistic regression model, smoking (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5e1.9), hypertension (1.5, 95% CI 1.3e1.7), diabetes mellitus (1.2, 95% CI 1.0e1.5), and coronary artery disease (1.5, 95% CI 1.3e1.8) were associated with prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis (plaque and/or stenosis). The use of antiplatelet agents and statins in participants with a carotid plaque was 20% and 29%, respectively. The corresponding figures in participants with a stenosis were 42% and 41%. Conclusions: This study offers contemporary data on the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in a population-based cohort of 65-year-old men. Most of those at risk had no other clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis, and therefore had no secondary prevention.