PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Siân Lax AU - Michael R Wilson AU - Masao Takata AU - David R Thickett TI - Using a non-invasive assessment of lung injury in a murine model of acute lung injury AID - 10.1136/bmjresp-2013-000014 DP - 2014 Jan 01 TA - BMJ Open Respiratory Research PG - e000014 VI - 1 IP - 1 4099 - http://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000014.short 4100 - http://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000014.full SO - BMJ Open Resp Res2014 Jan 01; 1 AB - Arterial oxygen saturation has not been assessed sequentially in conscious mice as a direct consequence of an in vivo murine model of acute lung injury. Here, we report daily changes in arterial oxygen saturation and other cardiopulmonary parameters by using infrared pulse oximetry following intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (IT-LPS) for up to 9 days, and following IT-phosphate buffered saline up to 72 h as a control. We show that arterial oxygen saturation decreases, with maximal decline at 96 h post IT-LPS. Blood oxygen levels negatively correlate with 7 of 10 quantitative markers of murine lung injury, including neutrophilia and interleukin-6 expression. This identifies infrared pulse oximetry as a method to non-invasively monitor arterial oxygen saturation following direct LPS instillations.