Patients who receive desmopressin acetate (dDAVP) after cardiopulmonary bypass bleed less during operation and in the first 24 hours after operation than do patients who receive a placebo. To study the mechanism of improved hemostasis in bypass patients, we examined the relationship between von Willebrand factor (vWF) and blood loss in 70 cardiopulmonary bypass patients, one-half of whom receiv...

INTRODUCTION Hyperlactatemia during cardiopulmonary bypass is relatively frequent and is associated with an increased postoperative morbidity. The aim of this study was to determine which perfusion-related factors may be responsible for hyperlactatemia, with specific respect to hemodilution and oxygen delivery, and to verify the clinical impact of hyperlactatemia during cardiopulmonary bypass i...

Higher eukaryotes encode various Y-family DNA polymerases to perform global DNA lesion bypass. To provide complete mutation spectra for abasic lesion bypass, we employed short oligonucleotide sequencing assays to determine the sequences of abasic lesion bypass products synthesized by human Y-family DNA polymerases eta (hPolη), iota (hPolι) and kappa (hPolκ). The fourth human Y-family DNA polyme...

BACKGROUND Activation of neutrophil adhesion molecules and subsequent neutrophil adhesion to vascular endothelium are key events initiating inflammatory organ dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass and ischemic reperfusion. OBJECTIVES We sought to characterize neutrophil integrin CD11b and L-selectin activation associated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery and to determine whether ne...

A DNA lesion created by oxidative stress is 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-guanine (8-oxoG). Because 8-oxoG can mispair with adenine during DNA synthesis, it is of interest to understand the efficiency and fidelity of 8-oxoG bypass by DNA polymerases. We quantify bypass parameters for two DNA polymerases implicated in 8-oxoG bypass, Pols delta and eta. Yeast Pol delta and yeast Pol eta both bypass 8-oxoG an...

BACKGROUND A prospective, single center, open-label study was conducted to determine if the standard practice for surgical prophylaxis, which includes standardized dosing of cefazolin, at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is adequate for patients placed on bypass during cardiac surgery. METHODS All patients were given the same standard dosing regimen regardless of weight: two g...

OBJECTIVE The following report describes the experience of the Cardiovascular Surgery Team of the ABC Medical School with coronary-coronary bypass grafting. METHODS Four patients undergone off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, with coronary-coronary bypass of the right coronary artery, by using great saphenous vein graft. RESULTS The follow-up period was 3 to 5 years without any intra- ...

BACKGROUND Atherosclerotic stenosis of the brachiocephalic artery sometimes occurs in patients with coronary artery disease, and can cause stroke during the perioperative period of coronary artery bypass grafting. CASE PRESENTATION We describe the case of a 77-year old male with severe stenosis of the brachiocephalic artery and severe coronary artery disease. He successfully underwent aorto-r...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary dysfunction is a known complication after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass, ranging from subclinical functional changes to prolonged postoperative ventilation, acute lung injury, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Whether human pulmonary arterial function is compromised is unknown. The aim of the present study was to compare the structure and function of i...

OBJECTIVE Operations coupled with cardiopulmonary bypass may provoke a systemic inflammatory response, and it has been suggested that this responses causes capillary leakage of proteins, edema formation, and even organ failure. However, capillary leak syndrome is mainly a clinical diagnosis and has not been verified as yet by actual demonstration of protein leakage from the circulation. We have...