Sudden Death Induced by Acute Inhalation of Aerosolized Carfentanil

Figures

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  Figure 1:. Cartoon showing the animal preparation and the configuration of aerosolized CRF inhalation exposure system.

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  Figure 2:. Typical recordings to show the three phases of cardiorespiratory response to aerosolized CRF for 10 min in an anesthetized and spontaneously breathing male rat. The inset presents the enlargement of the signals of heart rate. The traces from the top to bottom are arterial blood pressure (ABP), heart rate (HR), airflow, tidal volume (VT), respiratory frequency (fR), and ventilation (VE). The CRF exposure induces three phases of cardiorespiratory responses (I – III).

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  Figure 3:. A: Comparison of the respiratory response (VE, VT and fR) to aerosolized vehicle (Veh) and carfentanil at 4 mg/m3 (CRF) for 10 min in anesthetized and spontaneously breathing rats. n = 5 and 6 for Veh and CRF. * P < 0.05, compared to corresponding baseline “0” values; † P < 0.05, compared to the corresponding Veh. “B” on x-axis represents baseline.

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  Figure 4:. Comparison of respiratory timing (TE, TI and TI/TT) in response to aerosolized vehicle (Veh) and carfentanil at 4 mg/m3 (CRF) for 10 min in anesthetized and spontaneously breathing rats. n = 5 and 6 for Veh and CRF. * P < 0.05, compared to corresponding baseline “0” values; † P < 0.05, compared to the corresponding Veh. “B” on x-axis represents baseline.

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  Figure 5:. A: Typical Poincaré plots illustrating the variation of the respiratory intervals (NNn vs. NNn+1) in two rats exposed to vehicle (Veh) and carfentanil (CRF), respectively. The ellipse area describes the distribution of the points with the width of the standard deviation perpendicular to (SD1) and along the line of identity (SD2). B: the corresponding group data for SD1 and SD2. n = 5 and 6 for Veh and CRF. * P < 0.05, compared to corresponding baseline “B” values; † P < 0.05, compared to the corresponding Veh. “B” on x-axis represents baseline.

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  Figure 6:. The responses of mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and heart rate (HR) to inhalation of aerosolized vehicle (Veh) and carfentanil (CRF) at 4 mg/m3 for 10 min in anesthetized and spontaneously breathing rats. n = 5 and 6 for Veh and CRF. * P < 0.05, compared to corresponding baseline “0” values; † P < 0.05, compared to the corresponding Veh. “B” on x-axis represents baseline.