The effect of melatonin on cardiac biomarkers after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: A double-blind, randomized pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Melatonin has emerged as an anti-inflammatory agent, potent direct free-radical scavenger, and an indirect antioxidant in preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study aimed to evaluate melatonin's effect on cardiac biomarkers after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). DESIGN: A double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled pilot clinical study. SETTING: Booali Sina Hospital, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred patients undergoing elective CABG. The patients were divided randomly into control (C) and melatonin (M) groups (50 patients per group). INTERVENTIONS: The M group received 3 mg of melatonin the night before surgery, 3 mg in the morning, and routine cardiac surgery medications. The C group received 1 placebo tablet rather than melatonin. After surgery, the patients in the M group received 3 mg of melatonin, and the C group received 1 placebo tablet at bedtime until the third day after CABG. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In both groups, creatine kinase-MB (CPK-MB), cardiac troponin I, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured before surgery and on the first, second, and third postoperative days. Serum CPK-MB levels on the second and third day after CABG were significantly lower in the M group than in the C group (p < 0.05). Regarding cardiac troponin I, CRP, and ESR markers, there were no significant changes in serum concentration before surgery and on the first, second, and third days after surgery between the 2 groups (p > 0.05). The mean length of hospitalization in the ICU was lower in the M group (3.4 ± 1.05) compared with the C group (3.96 ± 1.06, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Melatonin reduced the postoperative level of CPK-MB and the length of hospitalization in the ICU in patients who underwent cardiac surgery.

Measurement of coronary sinus blood flow after first anterior myocardial infarction with transthoracic echocardiography and its correlation with wall motion scoring index.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the coronary sinus blood flow (CSBF) and coronary sinus velocity time integral (CSVTI) via transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in association with the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and wall motion scoring index (WMSI). METHODS: In this case-control study, 20 patients with anterior AMI and 20 healthy individuals as the control group, were studied in 6 months period from March to September 2005 in Madani Heart Center, Tabriz, Iran. All patients received the same treatment for AMI (such as fibrinolytic). The CSBF, CSVTI, WMSI, and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) data were obtained via TTE and compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Baseline variables were similar between the 2 groups (p>0.05). The CSBF in AMI group was 287.8 +/- 128 ml/min and in the control group was 415 +/- 127 ml/min (p=0.001). Also, CSVTI was significantly lower in AMI group than control group (11.16 +/- 2.85 and 17.56 +/- 2.72 mm, p=0.003). There was a significant correlation between CSBF and LVEF (r=0.52, p=0.01), WMSI (r=-0.77, p=0.0001) and CSBF and in-hospital mortality (r=0.58 p=0.03), also between CSVTI and LVEF (r=0.85, p=0.0001), WMSI (r=-0.57, p=0.0009) and in-hospital mortality rate (r=0.69, p=0.02). The CSBF and CSVTI had a good correlation with TDI findings: peak early diastolic velocity in the myocardium and peak systolic velocity in the myocardium). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated a good correlation between measured CSBF and CSVTI by 2D- Doppler TTE and LVEF, WMSI, in-hospital mortality and TDI findings.