Levosimendan as rescue therapy in low output syndrome after cardiac surgery: effects and predictors of outcome.

Objectives: Calcium sensitizers have been shown to improve outcomes in patients with low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) after cardiac surgery. We assessed the effects of levosimendan on LCOS in cardiac surgical patients to identify outcome predictors.

Methods: A total of 106 patients in whom LCOS persisted despite conventional therapy additionally received 0.

Daptomycin for the treatment of major gram-positive infections after cardiac surgery.

Background: Infection is a main cause of morbidity and mortality after heart surgery, with multi-resistant pathogens increasingly representing a challenge. Daptomycin provides bactericidal activity against gram-positive organisms that are resistant to standard treatment including vancomycin.

Methods: A cohort of cardiac surgical patients, treated with daptomycin for major infection at two tertiary care centers, were retrospectively studied with a particular focus on the type of infection, causative pathogens and co-infections, daptomycin dosage, adverse events and outcome in order to provide evidence for the efficiency and safety of daptomycin in a distinct high-risk patient population.

ATG-Fresenius inhibits blood circulating cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner: an experimental study.

Introduction: Antithymocyte globulin (ATG)-Fresenius (Neovii-Biotech, Graefelfing, Germany), a highly purified rabbit polyclonal antihuman T-lymphocyte immunoglobulin resulting from immunization of rabbits with the Jurkat T-lymphoblast cell line, is currently used for the prevention of acute rejection in patients receiving solid organ transplants. Our aim was to investigate the in vitro activity of ATG-Fresenius regarding the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), an important mechanism of rejection after solid organ transplantation.

Methods: PBMCs were isolated from 6 healthy donors.

Indocyanine green clearance as an outcome prediction tool in cardiac surgery: a prospective study.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDR-ICG) as an outcome prediction tool in cardiac surgery.

Patients And Methods: One hundred ninety patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgery or combined procedures were enrolled. PDR-ICG measurements along with standard lab values were performed preoperative and on postoperative days 1, 2, and on discharge from the intensive care unit.