Redo Cardiac Surgery: Bleeding Control

Abstract

Redo cardiac surgery increases mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to determine if aprotinin was superior to tranexamic acid concerning control bleeding loss after redo valve surgery. A retrospective study was conducted from January 1994 until December 2014. 221 patients underwent redo cardiac valve surgery and separated into two groups: aprotinin group (n = 85) and tranexamic acid group (n = 136). Univariate tests were applied for data analysis. A total of 221 patients were enrolled in this study. This cohort was separated into two groups: aprotinin group (n = 85) and tranexamic acid group (n = 136). Euroscore in tranexamic acid group was higher: 5.96 ± 3.04 vs. 5.17 ± 2.83 in aprotinin group (p = 0.055). There was no statistical difference in postoperative mortality between the two groups (p = 0.153). No statistical differences were reported concerning: total blood loss (p = 0.51), red blood cells transfusion (p = 0.215), reexploration for bleeding (p = 0.537) and postoperative renal failure (p = 0.79). There were statistical differences concerning mechanical ventilation time, which is longer in tranexamic acid group (p = 0.008) and the use of inotropic drug support, which is more frequent in the tranexamic acid group (p = 0.001). Our results demonstrated that tranexamic acid and aprotinin reduce transfusion requirement and blood loss. Due to financial reason, we chose tranexamic acid in preventing blood loss in redo valve surgery.