Seawater drowning induced acute lung injury: new insights from novel mouse models and micro-CT imaging.

OBJECTIVES: Seawater drowning causes severe lung and alveolar damage, easily inducing acute respiratory distress syndrome with high early mortality. Currently, standardized assessment and treatment approaches for seawater drowning-induced acute lung injury (SWD-ALI) are lacking. This study aimed to explore the lung damage mechanism of seawater drowning and provide early diagnostic and clinical therapeutic references for SWD-ALI. METHODS: A novel mouse model of SWD-ALI was established for the first time via the laryngoscopic endotracheal injection (LEI) method. Multiple indicators including lung histopathology, survival rate, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung coefficient and micro-CT were detected in strict accordance with the latest animal acute lung injury testing standards. RESULTS: Obvious exudative lesions in lung tissues were detected by CT as early as 0.5 h after seawater-induced injury, enabling early identification of severe acute lung injury. CONCLUSIONS: Lung CT can realize early diagnosis of SWD-ALI. This finding is critical for guiding clinical treatment and reducing the mortality of seawater drowning patients.