The effect of chlorpromazine on preservation of kidneys with one hour of warm ischaemia.

Preservation of pig kidneys for 24 hours following one hour of warm ischaemia has been studied in 15 experiments. The material was divided into three groups of five animals. In group A the renal artery was clamped for one hour after heparinization of the animal. The kidney was then removed and preserved for 24 hours by hypothermic storage (0°C), using a short initial cooling perfusion with a perfusate medium which mimics the intracellular ion composition. In group B the experimental conditions were the same as in group A, with the only exception that the animals were treated with i.v. infusion of chlorpromazine (4 mg/kg) before clamping of the renal artery. In group C the kidneys were preserved by continuous hypothermic plasma perfusion, but otherwise treated as in group B. After transplantation the kidney function was followed by means of the creatinine and urea concentration in plasma, and 31 days after transplantation inulin, creatinine, urea and PAH clearances were measured in all the surviving animals. In group A only one animal survived an experimental period of 1 month while four died uraemic 4–7 days after transplantation. In groups B and C all animals survived. The degree of renal functional depression, judged by the concentration of creatinine and urea in plasma, was of the same order of magnitude in groups B and C during the first days after transplantation. A comparison of the renal clearances 31 days after transplantation showed higher values in group B, when the clearances were expressed per 100 g kidney weight.