The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 1996
Comparative StudyContinuous warm versus intermittent cold cardioplegic infusion: a comparison of energy metabolism, sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity, and postischemic functional recovery in the blood-perfused rat heart.
We used metabolic, enzymatic, and functional end points to compare the protective properties of continuous warm and intermittent cold cardioplegic infusion in isolated, blood-perfused rat hearts. After excision, hearts (n = 12 per group) were preserved for 3 hours by one of the following cardioplegic procedures: (1) continuous infusion of warm (37 degrees C) blood cardioplegic solution prepared by mixing Fremes' solution with rat arterial blood in a ratio of 1:4, (2) continuous infusion of warm (37 degrees C) crystalloid cardioplegic solution prepared by mixing Fremes' solution with bicarbonate buffer solution in a ratio of 1:4, or (3) intermittent infusion of cold (20 degrees C) St. Thomas' Hospital cardioplegic solution number 2 infused for 3 minutes every 30 minutes during a 3-hour period of ischemia. ⋯ The control value was 16 +/- 3 mm Hg (p < 0.05 vs continuous warm blood and continuous warm crystalloid groups). Tissue content of adenosine triphosphate was similarly reduced to approximately 50% of control values in all groups, and creatine phosphate content fully recovered in all groups. Sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity was poorly preserved in continuous warm crystalloid-treated hearts (0.012 +/- 0.003 vs 0.030 +/- 0.008 mumol inorganic phosphate-mg-1.min-1.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 1996
Cerebral metabolic recovery from deep hypothermic circulatory arrest after treatment with arginine and nitro-arginine methyl ester.
Recent studies suggest that nitric oxide is important in the pathogenesis of ischemic brain injury and also has a role in controlling cerebrovascular tone. This study examines the net effects of nitric oxide on cerebral metabolic recovery after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. ⋯ In a piglet model of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, L-nitro-arginine methyl ester has a deleterious effect and L-arginine has a beneficial effect on cerebral metabolic recovery. The deleterious metabolic effects of L-nitro-arginine methyl ester are only partially reversed by L-arginine. This fact suggests that there may be mechanisms in addition to inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis contributing to the neurotoxicity of L-nitro-arginine methyl ester in this model.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 1996
Comparative StudyCanine double-lung transplantation with cadaveric donors.
If lungs could be retrieved from cadavers after circulatory arrest, the critical shortage of donors for lung transplantation might be alleviated. To assess gas exchange after transplantation of lungs from cadaveric donors, we performed double-lung transplantation through sequential thoracotomies in 12 dogs. Donors were sacrificed by intravenous pentobarbital injection and then ventilated with 100% oxygen. ⋯ Donor lungs retrieved at 2 and 4 hours postmortem afford similar recipient outcomes. Improvement in alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient and reduction in extravascular lung water during the study period imply that the ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by this model is reversible. If this approach could be safely introduced to clinical practice, substantially more transplant procedures could be performed.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 1996
Neutrophil endopeptidase inhibitor improves pulmonary function during reperfusion after eighteen-hour preservation.
Reperfusion injury remains a significant problem after lung transplantation and is thought to be in part mediated by neutrophils. Ulinastatin inhibits release of elastase and cathepsin G from neutrophil granules. We hypothesized that inhibition of these neutrophi endopeptidases (proteases) would attenuate pulmonary reperfusion injury. ⋯ Ulinastatin diminishes reperfusion injury after 18 hours of hypothermic pulmonary ischemia, with resultant improvements in pulmonary artery pressure and airway compliance. Improvement in pulmonary function after preservation and reperfusion with a neutrophil endopeptidase inhibitor confirms the role of endopeptidases in reperfusion injury and suggests an intervention to reduce their detrimental effects on early graft function.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 1996
Protective effects of dimethyl amiloride against postischemic myocardial dysfunction in rabbit hearts: phosphorus 31-nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of intracellular pH and cellular energy.
The effects of 5-(N,N-dimethyl)amiloride, a potent and specific Na(+)-H+ exchange inhibitor, were investigated in isolated perfused rabbit hearts subjected to ischemia and reperfusion. Phosphorus 31-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to monitor intracellular pH, creatine phosphate, beta-adenosine triphosphate, and inorganic phosphate. After cardioplegic arrest with St. ⋯ The creatine phosphate resynthesis and inorganic phosphate reduction during reperfusion were also unaffected. These findings suggest that Na(+)-H+ exchange plays an important role not only during reperfusion but also during ischemia for the development of postischemic cardiac dysfunction most likely by inducing primary Na+ and secondary Ca2+ overload. Specific Na(+)-H+ exchange inhibitors like dimethyl amiloride would have a potential therapeutic profile in cardiac surgery, especially if added before ischemia.