Use of perfluorocarbons for assisting normal breathing in mammals having lung disorders

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A method of assisting a mammal having a lung disorder to breathe ambient gas normally, i.e. without the assistance of a ventilator. The method includes providing an animal having a lung disorder such as surfactant deficiency, stiff lung or hyperinflated lung syndrome, and instilling a minimum effective dose of a perfluorochemical liquid or emulsion through the trachea for coating the alveolar sacs of a lung of the mammal. The preferred perfluorochemicals have a very low vapor pressure to avoid inducing hyperinflated lung syndrome and are supplied in a minimum effective dosage sufficient to coat the inner lung surfaces. The perfluorochemicals are permeable to the ambient gas and …