Conventional carbon dioxide application does not reduce cerebral or myocardial damage in open heart surgery.

Background: Open heart surgery is associated with a significant risk of cerebral and myocardial dysfunction, which is attributed in part to air embolism from incompletely deaired cardiac chambers. To evaluate the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) insufflation to the thoracic cavity, a prospective randomized study was designed.

Methods: A total of 62 elective patients were randomly assigned to CO2 insufflation (group I, n = 31) or control (group II, n = 31).