Anesthesiology, V 123 • No 2 249 August 2015 N early 53 yr ago, the use of glucose, insulin, and potassium (GIK) infusions were introduced into medical practice to reduce myocardial injury during a heart attack1 and subsequently applied to cardiac surgery. What particular component(s) of GIK, the glucose, insulin and/or potassium, provide myocardial benefits for cardiac surgery continues to be ...

BACKGROUND Some benefits of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) may be from an anti-inflammatory effect. The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of GIK administration early in the course of ACS on inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. A secondary aim was to investigate the association between CRP and 30-day infarct size. ...

BACKGROUND Glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) has been advocated in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to reduce ischemia-related arrhythmias and myocardial injury. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess whether the use of GIK infusions >3 or <3 hours after the onset of symptoms reduce mortality or cardiac arrest. METHODS Electronic databases (Med...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of high-dose glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solution on hemodynamics and cardiac remodeling in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS We observed the changes in the hemodynamic parameters in 26 patients with AMI. All patients received primary PCI before entering the ...

Myocardial Infarction To the Editor: As my mentor Dr William Dock said, medical practice is like a pendulum: it swings back and forth every 20 to 30 years. Sodi-Pallares et al1 in 1962 introduced the glucose-insulinpotassium infusion (GIK) for treatment of acute myocardial infarction. It was also called the “polarizing solution,”2 but little did they know that this solution indeed polarized the...

Background: Favorable clinical outcomes have been observed with glucose-insulin-potassium infusion (GIK) in acute myocardial infarction (MI). The mechanisms of this beneficial effect have not been delineated clearly. GIK has metabolic, anti-inflammatory and profibrinolytic effects and it may preserve the ischemic myocardium. We sought to assess the effect of GIK infusion on infarct size and lef...

Patients with diabetes mellitus have a 1.5–2 times higher risk of death after myocardial infarction than do nondiabetic patients. In diabetic myocardium, the consumption of fatty acid as metabolic fuel is thought to be increased, whereas glycolysis is impaired both in ischaemic and non-ischaemic areas. As the consumption of fatty acids instead of glucose requires more oxygen, such a shift may b...