Glucocorticoid-induced protection in circulatory shock: role of reticuloendotheilial system function.

Experiments with rats indicate that: (i) hydrocortisone sodium succinate (HC) and methylprednisolone sodium succine (MP) enhance survival after hemorrhage; (ii) MP is approximately 10-times more potent than HC; (iii) both HC and MP are more efficacious if administered prior to hemorrhage; (iv) efficacy of postshock therapy with both steroids is not only time- but dose-dependent; and (v) HC and MP can ameliorate or completely prevent the early RES phagocytic depression observed in circulatory shock. Overall, these data could be used to suggest that: (i) the RES may play a pivotal role in the beneficial actions of synthetic adrenocorticosteroids in circulatory shock, and (ii) numerical RES phagocytic indices may be diagnostic and prognostic parameters in circulatory shock therapy.