TABLE 1.

BLOOD GAS DATA, DIAPHRAGM TETANIC FORCE, TWITCH FORCE AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS, I.E., TIME TO PEAK TENSION AND HALF-RELAXATION TIME IN CONTROLS, SPONTANEOUS BREATHING, AND CONTROLLED MECHANICAL VENTILATION RATS TREATED WITH SALINE OR METHYLPREDNISOLONE

	C	SB	CMV-Saline	CMV-Methylprednisolone
Po2	—	148 ± 33	137 ± 51	134 ± 54
Pco2	—	49 ± 12*	32 ± 13	37 ± 14
pH	—	7.357 ± 0.04	7.479 ± 0.09	7.410 ± 0.16
Po (N/cm2)	22.9 ± 1.9	20.2 ± 1.4	15.1 ± 2.3†	17.8 ± 2.6‡
Pt (N/cm2)	4.0 ± 0.2	3.9 ± 0.3	3.4 ± 0.8	4.2 ± 0.8§
TPT (ms)	19 ± 3	20 ± 3	20 ± 2	20 ± 3
1/2 RT (ms)	22 ± 3	24 ± 3	22 ± 6	25 ± 5

Definition of abbreviations: C = controls; CMV = controlled mechanical ventilation; P_o = tetanic force; P_t = twitch force; RT = relaxation time; SB = spontaneous breathing; TPT = time to peak tension.

Values are mean ± SD.

^*P < 0.05 vs. CMV-Saline and CMV-Methylprednisolone;

^†P < 0.05 vs. others;

^‡P < 0.01 vs. C;

^§P < 0.05 vs. CMV-Saline.