Assessment of aprotinin in the reduction of inflammatory systemic response in children undergoing surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate if the hemostatic high-dose aprotinin seems to reduce the inflammatory process after extracorporeal circulation (ECC) in children. METHODS A prospective randomized study was conducted on children aged 30 days to 4 years submitted to correction of acyanogenic congenital heart disease with ECC and divided into two groups: Control (n=9) and Aprotinin (n=10). In the Aprotinin Group the drug was administered before and during ECC and the systemic inflammatory response and hemostatic and multiorgan dysfunctions were analyzed on the basis of clinical and biochemical markers. Differences were considered to be significant when P<0.05. RESULTS The groups were similar regarding demographic and intraoperative variables, except for a greater hemodilution in the Aprotinin Group. The drug had no benefit regarding time of mechanical pulmonary ventilation, permanence in the postoperative ICU and length of CONCLUSION In this series, hemostatic high-dose aprotinin did not minimize the clinical manifestations or serum markers of the inflammatory systemic response.