2.5. Outcomes
SECONDARY, HYPERAEMIA
Our primary outcome was group-differences in perioperative changes in endothelial function, assessed as the reactive hyperaemia index (RHI), from baseline (preoperative assessment) to 2–4 h and 24 h (postoperative day 1, POD1) after surgery. Our secondary outcomes were group differences in perioperative changes in biomarkers of NO bioavailability: plasma L-arginine, plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), L-arginine/ADMA, plasma tetrahydrobiopterin (BH