Inhaled Nitric Oxide in Prevention/Treatment of Ischemia-Reperfusion Lung Injury Related to Lung Transplantation

The objective is to determine the role of inhaled NO in the prevention/treatment of IRLI in lung transplant patients. The plan is to accomplish this objective in 2 phases: Phase 1 - patients immediately post transplant will have a variety of physiologic measurements performed while breathing 0, 10, and 20 ppm inhaled NO. For the next 24 hours they will be kept on a mixture providing the best oxygen delivery and pulmonary artery pressure. Our specific aims in this phase are to characterize physiologic responses to inhaled NO and determine the incidence of IRLI in these patients over 24 hours. Phase 2 - patients immediately post transplant will be randomized to either INO or placebo gas and followed for 24 hours. Our specific aim in this phase is to compare the rate of development of IRLI in the two groups.