Table 1. Characterization of the study cohort.
| 21% | 100% for 15 min, 21% for 45 min | 100% for 60 min | Control | p values | |
| Weight (g) | 1948 (134) | 1693 (552) | 1951 (132) | 1868 (78) | 0.20 |
| Age (h) | 23.0 (5.7) | 20.8 (5.1) | 21.1 (4.4) | 30.0 (2.9) | 0.08 |
| Gender M/F | 4/4 | 3/5 | 5/6 | 3/3 | 0.9 |
| Hb g/100 ml start | 8.1 (0.9) | 7.5 (1.8) | 7.5 (1.4) | 7.6 (1.3) | 0.74 |
| Hypoxia (min) | 57 (13) | 86 (33) | 61 (13) | - | 0.06 |
| pH start | 7.44 (0.005) | 7.48 (0.006) | 7.44 (0.005) | 7.42 (0.007) | 0.34 |
| End hypoxia | 6.90 (0.04) | 6.91(0.05) | 6.95 (0.09) | 7.43(0.03) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 7.34 (0.06) | 7.34 (0.07) | 7.36 (0.09) | 7.43(0.03) | 0.01 |
| BE mmol/L start | 3.3 (3.1) | 5.4 (3.7) | 5.2 (4.7) | 1.9 (3.1) | 0.26 |
| End hypoxia | −20.2 (2.1) | −19.9 (2.1) | −18.7 (3.7) | 2.64 | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | −6.1 (2.5) | −8.0 (4.1) | −3.8 (4.6) | 1.5 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| MABP mmHg start | 75 (9) | 72 (15) | 71 (13) | 74 (10) | 0.84 |
| End hypoxia | 42 (16) | 43 (16) | 41 (16) | 84 (12) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 53 (4) | 48 (8) | 53 (8) | 74 (9) | <0.001 |
| SaO2% start | 96 (1) | 97 (2) | 96 (1) | 95 (3) | 0.53 |
| End hypoxia | 29 (3) | 30 (5) | 30 (5) | 96 (2) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 94 (2) | 95 (2) | 100 (0) | 94 (3) | |
| Heart Rate start | 189 (30) | 176 (54) | 194 (56) | 150 (31) | 0.13 |
| End hypoxia | 216 (24) | 230 (20) | 206 (43) | 171 (48) | 0.10 |
| end reoxygenation | 229 (27) | 215 (51) | 230 (28) | 167 (39) | 0.03 |
| pO2 kPa start | 11.5 (0.6) | 11.8 (1.5) | 11.3 (0.9) | 10.7 (1.8) | 0.60 |
| End hypoxia | 4.7 (0.4) | 4.4 (0.5) | 4.5 (0.7) | 11.8 (1.6) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 11.5 (1.3) | 11.9 (2.0) | 59.8 (9.1) | 10.6 (2.0) | <0.001 |
| pCO2 kPa start | 5.3 (0.4) | 5.2 (0.5) | 5.8 (0.5) | 5.6 (0.9) | 0.14 |
| End hypoxia | 8.8 (0.3) | 8.7 (0.5) | 8.3 (0.8) | 5.5 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 4.9 (0.4) | 4.6 (0.79 | 5.2 (0.7) | 5.3 (0.8) | 0.36 |
| Glucose start | 6.9 (0.8) | 6.6 (1.4) | 6.4 (1.8) | 7.0 (0.6) | 0.78 |
| End hypoxia | 10.4 (4.2) | 8.0 (3.9) | 7.0 (4.5) | 6.2 (0.6) | 0.09 |
| end reoxygenation | 8.8 (2.8) | 6.9 (2.7) | 6.1 (2.6) | 6.1 (0.4) | 0.18 |
| Lactate start | 2.0 (0.8) | 3.2 (2.4) | 2.8 (1.0) | 2.5 (0.9) | 0.38 |
| End hypoxia | 13.7 (4.7) | 13.6 (4.5) | 12.6 (5.4) | 1.5 (0.7) | <0.001 |
| end reoxygenation | 8.6 (2.2) | 10.5 (3.3) | 8.9 (2.5)| | 1.3 (0.7) | <0.001 |
Characterization of the study cohort before, directly after asphyxia and after reoxygenation, using classically used parameters in the clinic: The preliminary inspection of the design structure did not reveal significant differences between the treatment groups (Tukey adjusted p value greater than 0.1 for any group comparison) with respect to the clinical parameters (Hb, age, bodyweight, pH, BE, lactate and MABP) measured after the piglets underwent a one-hour stabilization/relaxation procedure. Hypoxia was not found to be significantly different between the three groups (F (2, 13.7) = 1.9, p = 0.18). Hypoxia induced significant changes in pH, lactate, BE and MABP to a similar extent in the three groups of animals that underwent hypoxia (Tukey adjusted p value<0.001 for any comparison involving the control group and p>0.2 otherwise, n = 8, 8, 11 and 6 for the 21%, 100% for 15 min, 100% for 60 min and control groups, respectively; italic values show the control group at corresponding time points).