Cardiopulmonary Bypass Settings for the Prevention of Early Hypotension During CABG

Background: Vasoplegic syndrome is a form of vasodilatory shock that can occur before, during or after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We introduce a strategy to reduce the incidence of early hypotension phenomena during Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) procedures. Materials and Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 100 patients underwent elective CABG with two perioperative CPB settings. The study group (50 patients) was managed with retrograde autologous priming (RAP), 3-minute stepwise for the institution of CPB, and pulsatile flow (PP). The control group (50 patients) was managed without RAP, with the rapid initiation of CPB, and non-pulsatile (NP) flow. The primary endpoints were MAP (mmHg), number of hypotensive phenomena (MAP < 50 mmHg for > 30 sec), the venous return volume on CPB (ml), the cardiac index (L/min/m2), hemoglobin (g/dL), indexed oxygen delivery (DO2i, ml/min/m2), the systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI, dynes s m2/cm5), number of 1-ml boluses of a vasoactive substance (norepinephrine), the positive fluid balance (ml), and the number of red blood cell units for transfusion. Results: During CPB, the mean values in the study and control groups were as follows: MAP, 68± 7 vs 56 ± 7 (p-value, 0.0019); hypotensive phenomena, 3 ± 1 vs 8 ±2 (p-value, 0.019); venous return volume, 840±79 vs 1129 ±123 (p-value, 0.0017); cardiac index, 2.4 ± 0.4 vs 2.7 ±0.2 (p-value, 0.0023); hemoglobin, 9.13 ± 0.29 vs 7.8± 0.23 (p-value, 0.0001); DO2i, 301± 12 vs 276±23 (p-value, 0.0011); SVRI, 1879 ±280 vs 2210 ±140 (p-value, 0.0017); norepinephrine, 1±2 vs 8 ±3 (p-value, 0.0023); positive fluid balance, 750 ±212 vs 1450 ±220 (p-value, 0.005); and total number of red blood cell units for transfusion, 16 ±4.2 vs 27 ± 5.3 (p-value, 0.008). Conclusions: In this prospective cohort study, during CPB, the study group showed a better preservation of MAP, SVRI, and DO2i, and a reduction of vasoconstrictor use in a CPB setting with the RAP technique, 3-minute stepwise for the initiation of CPB and pulsatile pump flow, compared to the control group. Further studies are needed to validate this perioperative approach to CPB.