Effect of intra-abdominal hypertension on the intraocular pressure of the conscious dogs

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) on intraocular pressure (IOP) in conscious dog models using a balloon technique to generate intra-abdominal hypertension. Six healthy dogs without ocular abnormalities were evaluated in this study. A balloon device was placed in the intra-abdominal cavity. The abdomen was insufflated to IAP levels of 15 and 25 mmHg using the balloon device. Intraocular pressure was measured at baseline, at IAP levels of 15 and 25 mmHg, and after decompression. In comparison with the mean baseline IOP (15.1 ± 2.0 mmHg), there was a significant increase in IOP at IAP levels of 15 mmHg (20.0 ± 2.1 mmHg) and 25 mmHg (19.9 ± 2.2 mmHg), corresponding to a 32.4% and 31.7% increase from baseline IOP, respectively. The mean IOP after decompression (14.8 ± 1.7 mmHg) was significantly lower compared to those at IAP levels of 15 and 25 mmHg. The present findings demonstrate that increased IAP has a clinically significant effect on IOP in dogs under conscious conditions. Although more research is needed to determine of increased IAP on IOP, these findings suggest that increased IAP leads to mild and reversible increase in IOP.