An evaluation of underbody forced-air and resistive heating during hypothermic, on-pump cardiac surgery.

We conducted a randomised controlled trial to compare the efficacy of underbody forced-air warming (Arizant Healthcare Inc, Eden Prairie, MN, USA) with an underbody resistive heating mattress (Inditherm Patient Warming System, Rotherham, UK) and passive insulation in 129 patients having hypothermic cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients were separated from cardiopulmonary bypass at a core temperature of 35 °C and external warming continued until the end of surgery. Before cardiopulmonary bypass, the temperature-vs-time slopes were significantly greater in both active warming groups than in the passive insulation group (p < 0.001 for each). However, the slopes of forced-air and resistive warming did not differ (p = 0.55). After cardiopulmonary bypass, the rate of rewarming was significantly greater with forced-air than with resistive warming or passive insulation (p < 0.001 for each), while resistive warming did not differ from passive insulation (p = 0.14). However, absolute temperature differences among the groups were small.

Resistive heating during off-pump coronary bypass surgery.

BACKGROUND: Maintaining normothermia during off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery is difficult. The purpose of the present study is to determine the effect of the Inditherm Patient Warming System (IPWS) with standard institutional care during OPCAB surgery. METHODS: A control cohort of 10 patients undergoing OPCAB surgery received standard conventional therapy. A study cohort of another 10 patients then underwent similar procedures with the additional use of the IPWS. The nasopharyngeal and rectal temperatures of the two groups were compared during the 4-hour study period. RESULTS: During the 4-hour study period after induction, the Inditherm patients demonstrated significantly improved core body temperatures compared to the control group: lowest rectal temperature: 35.8 +/- 0.4 degrees C vs. 34.8 +/- 0.6 degrees C (p < 0.01) and lowest nasopharyngeal temperature : 35.5 +/- 0.4 degrees C vs. 34.7 +/- 0.5 degrees C (p < 0.01), respectively. The between-group rectal and nasopharyngeal temperature differences reached statistical significance after 70 minutes, 36.2 +/- 0.5 degrees C vs. 35.7 +/- 0.2 degrees C (p < 0.01) and after 60 minutes 35.8 +/- 0.4 degrees C vs. 35.4 +/- 0.1 degrees C (p < 0.01), respectively. At the end, the rectal core temperatures were 36.1 +/- 0.6 degrees C vs. 34.9 +/- 0.6 degrees C (p < 0.01) and the nasopharyngeal temperatures were 35.8 +/- 0.6 degrees C vs. 34.8 +/- 0.5 degrees C (p < 0.01) in the study and the control groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: The combination of the IPWS with standard thermal care provides higher core temperatures during OPCAB surgery.

Clinical evaluation of the oxygenation capacity and controllability of 15 commercially available membrane oxygenators during alpha-stat regulated hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass.

Oxygenation performance was tested in 15 membrane oxygenators by calculating the resistance for oxygenation (R) and the calculation of oxygen transferred versus FiO2. The clinical data reveal that the SARNS Turbo 440 (36.7-51.9%), the AFFINITY (37.2-50.1%) and the HF 5400 (37.5-52.3%) are the oxygenators with the lowest FiO2 settings for comparable amounts of oxygen transferred during hypothermia and during normothermia followed by MAXIMA Plus (39.1-55.8%), MAXIMA Plus PRF (39.1-56.2%), CAPIOX SX 18 (39.7-61.2%), MONOLYTH (43.0-61.3%), OXIM 11-34 (44.1-63.9%), COBE Duo (44.7-64.9%), COBE Optima (47.4-66.4%), COMPACTFLO (48.3-65.3%), SAFE II (49.0-67.6%), UNIVOX (49.8-71.3%), MAXIMA (50.2-70.1%) and the CM 50 (58.6-77.0%). Similar results were found by calculation of R. HF 5400 (2.41-1.87 mmHg/min/ml O2), AFFINITY (2.63-1.87 mmHg/min/ml O2). OXIM II-34 (2.72-2.45 mmHg/min/ml O2), MAXIMA Plus PRF (2.75-2.07 mmHg/min/ ml O2), COBE Optima (2.83-2.13 mmHg/min/ml O2), UNIVOX (2.84-2.17 mmHg/min/ml O2), MONOLYTH (2.89-2.24 mmHg/min/ml O2), SARNS Turbo 440 (3.03-2.12 mmHg/min/ml O2), MAXIMA Plus (3.09-2.28 mmHg/min/ml O2), SAFE 11 (3.19-2.50 mmHg/min/ml O2), CAPIOX SX 18 (3.27-2.44 mmHg/ min/ml O2), COMPACTFLO (3.41-2.50 mmHg/min/ml O2), MAXIMA (3.53-2.72 mmHg/min/ml O2), COBE Duo (3.57-2.71 mmHg/min/ml O2) and the CM 50 (3.53-2.72 mmHg/min/ml O2). As a measure of controllability of oxygenation, the coefficient of variation on the FiO2 ordered on the normothermic blood samples was used, giving as a result CAPIOX SX 18 (2.9-2.5%), AFFINITY (3.6-3.5%), COBE Duo (4.3-2.9%), HF 5400 (5.7-4.7%), MAXIMA Plus (8.1-5.4%), COMPACTFLO (8.2-5.0%), MONOLYTH (8.3-4.0%), MAXIMA (8.7-3.4%), COBE Optima (9.6-6.8%), SARNS Turbo 440 (10.1-7.3%), MAXIMA Plus PRF (10.9-8.7%), CM 50 (11.9-2.4%), UNIVOX (13.3-8.9%), OXIM 11-34 (15.5-17.3%) and the SAFE II (16.1-9.8%). The low FiO2 settings and the lower resistance for oxygenation are an indication of the reserve capacity of the oxygenators whose importance is proven by clinical data of emergency perfusions on patients under full resuscitation.

Bair hugger forced-air warming maintains normothermia more effectively than thermo-lite insulation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability of forced-air warming and reflective insulation to maintain intraoperative normothermia. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Operating rooms of a general hospital. PATIENTS: 20 ASA physical status I and II patients undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to be warmed intraoperatively using forced-air or reflective insulation. Inspired gases were conditioned using a heat-and-moisture exchanger in both groups, and infused intravenous fluids were warmed to 37 degrees C. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Distal esophageal (core) temperatures decreased approximately 0.5 degrees C in both groups during the first 45 minutes of anesthesia. Subsequently, core temperatures increased slightly in the patients given forced-air warming. In contrast, core temperatures continued to decrease in patients covered with reflective insulation. After 135 minutes of anesthesia, core temperatures were 36.4 +/- 0.6 degrees C (mean +/- SD) in the forced-air group but only 35.4 +/- 0.6 degrees C in the insulated group (p < 0.01, unpaired t-test). These data indicate that forced-air warming is superior to reflective insulation. CONCLUSION: Reflective insulation was unable to maintain intraoperative normothermia during total hip arthroplasty. Active warming, such as that provided by forced air, was required to prevent hypothermia.

Predictive value of coagulation testing in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Severe postoperative bleeding in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is still a major problem. One hundred and seven patients undergoing uncomplicated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were studied. Two groups were formed according to the patients' 24 hours postoperative mediastinal blood loss. Patients in group I (n = 70) had blood loss less than 1000 ml and patients in group II (n = 33) had blood loss over 1000 ml. Between the two groups, there were no differences in age, male-female ratio, number of grafts, by pass-time or heparin-protamine dose. Coagulation testing: APTT (Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time), PT (Prothrombin Time), fibrinogen, D-dim. (D-dimers), bleeding time, MPV (mean platelet volume) and platelet count, was done preoperatively (T0), immediately postoperatively (T1), 6 hours postoperatively (T2). We were especially interested in the predictive value of hemostatic parameters at T0 and T1. We found a slight but statistically negative correlation between the platelet count (T0 and T1) and the postoperative blood loss.

Synthesis of diphtheria tox-gene products in Escherichia coli extracts.

In a protein-synthesizing system extracted from E. coli, purified DNA from corynephages betac(tox+) and beta45c was used to direct the in vitro synthesis of diphtheria toxin and of the related nontoxic protein, CRM45, as well as of other beta-phage proteins. When betac(tox+)-DNA or betac-DNA was added to a similar system extracted from the nonlysogenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain, C7(s)(-)(tox-), neither toxin nor the CRM45 protein was produced, although other beta-phage proteins were synthesized in amounts equivalent to those produced in the E. coli system from the same amount of beta-phage DNA. Preliminary experiments suggest that both toxinogenic and nontoxinogenic strains of the diphtheria bacillus contain a factor that specificially blocks expression of the tox gene. Synthesis of toxin and the CRM45 protein in the E. coli system could not be inhibited by relatively high concentrations of inorganic iron, but could be inhibited by extracts from the C7(s)(-)(tox-) strain of C. diphtheriae.