The search for safe and effective patient management strategies during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass is ongoing; intravenous calcium is occasionally used as a first-line drug. The physiologic role of calcium suggests that it can support the function of the cardiovascular system during this critical period. Patients may be mildly hypocalcemic after cardiopulmonary bypass; however, this degree of hypocalcemia does not significantly impair the cardiovascular system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Volatile (inhaled) anesthetic agents have cardioprotective effects, which might improve clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG).
Methods: We conducted a pragmatic, multicenter, single-blind, controlled trial at 36 centers in 13 countries. Patients scheduled to undergo elective CABG were randomly assigned to an intraoperative anesthetic regimen that included a volatile anesthetic (desflurane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane) or to total intravenous anesthesia.
J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth
August 2018
Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) gained attention as a possibility to reduce myocardial injury after a subsequent sustained episode of myocardial ischaemia. This prospective randomized study was carried out to assess whether RIPC reduces myocardial injury in coronary artery bypass grafting patients. Eighty patients were assigned to remote preconditioning or control treatment.
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