Fat embolism syndrome: A comparison of hematologic coagulation and lipid changes in two animal models.

In considering intravenous injection of lipid as a model of fat embolism, contamination is frequent and purity must be demonstrated. Musculoskeletal trauma causes mild arterial hypoxia whereas intravenous pure triolein 0.1 mg/kg does not. Trauma produced a leukocytosis and elevated sedimentation rate not found in the lipid injected dogs. Evidence for consumptive coagulopathy was found in the trauma group but only a mild thrombocytopenia resulted from intravenous triolein. The traumatized dogs demonstrated an increase in the triglyceride level, an increase in the cholesterol phopholipid ratio and an increase in the cholesterol containing beta and prebeta lipoprotein fractions, all of which could lead to formation of pulmonary fat emboli containing cholesterol.