Co-administration of pentoxifylline and thiopental causes death by acute pulmonary oedema in rats

Background and purpose: Pentoxifylline exhibits rheological properties that improve microvascular flow and it is widely used in vascular perfusion disorders. It also exhibits marked anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting tumour necrosis factor a production. Thiopental is one of the most widely used drugs for rapid induction of anaesthesia. During experimental studies on the treatment of acute pancreatitis, we observed that when pentoxifylline was administered after anaesthesia with thiopental, most of the rats exhibited dyspnea, signs of pulmonary oedema and died. The aim of the work described here was to investigate the cause of the unexpected toxic effect of the combined treatment wit…