Do circuits with surface modifying additive alter the haemodynamic response to cardiopulmonary bypass?
The decrease in blood pressure in the control group, upon the initiation of CPB, did not occur in patients undergoing CPB with the circuit prepared with the surface modifying additive. The decrease in blood pressure was likely associated with the increase in total administered fluids intraoperatively (approximately 1 l/patient) and perhaps the trend towards higher use of inotropes in the control patients as opposed to the test patients. These haemodynamic changes did not appear to be related to complement activation early in CPB.
Although the number of patients was small, the authors found that the treatment of GBS with CSFF is at least as effective as with PE. CSFF might work by removing from the CSF inflammatory mediators, autoantibodies, or other factors.