Ventilation is usually carried out via the mouth or nose. A Japanese gastroenterologist tested whether oxygen supply is also possible via the intestine.
According to the Lung Information Service, artificial ventilation helps people with impaired respiratory function absorb enough oxygen and release carbon dioxide. There are basically two possible ways of ventilation: from the outside via the mouth and nose (non-invasive) or via a tube in the trachea (invasive). A Japanese researcher has now developed another, quite unusual method: ventilation through the anus.
Researchers from Japan develop new method of ventilation through the buttocks
Takanori Takebe, a Japanese doctor specializing in the gastrointestinal tract, was looking for a gentler way to breathe when his father had to be ventilated for pneumonia, as Welt.de reports. It occurred to the gastroenterologist that animals such as the freshwater fish mudpeitzger can absorb oxygen through their intestines. In situations where there is a lack of oxygen, the mud whip can supplement its gill breathing; according to Standard.at, it absorbs air from the water surface and directs it directly into its intestines.
Together with other researchers, Takebe administered the special oxygen-containing liquid perfluorodecalin to mice and pigs in several series of experiments. Similar to an enema, the oxygen, introduced via a rectal tube, is supposed to be absorbed by the lower intestine and passed directly into the blood. This showed that the oxygen saturation in the blood increased measurably. The results of the study were published in the specialist magazine Med.
Does ventilation via the intestine also work in humans?
To check whether this unusual ventilation method also works in humans, 27 male volunteers received a dose of the fluid administered rectally. This remained in the body for about an hour. The study did not clearly demonstrate increased oxygen uptake as in animals: However, the method is considered safe in humans, as the results also published in Med show. Doses of up to 1,000 milliliters were well tolerated; abdominal pain only occurred in four out of six test subjects above 1,500 milliliters.
Whether the method can actually be used on humans remains an open question. Takanori Takebe himself could imagine that it would act as a supplement to classic ventilation to ensure survival in emergency situations of oxygen deprivation. However, before the procedure can be used, further investigations are required.
