Role of nitric oxide in regulation of systemic vascular resistance during and after cardiopulmonary bypass

Abstract

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is known to result in the abnormal production of vasoactive substances contributing to the changes in hemodynamics such as systemic vascular resistance (SVR) during and after CPB. Nitric oxide (NO) is an inflammation-mediated vasoactive substance that plays a role in the whole-body inflammatory response induced by CPB. We evaluated the role of NO in the regulation of SVR during and after CPB. Fifteen patients underwent open-heart surgery for valvular heart disease. The perfusate blood temperature of CPB was set to 34°C. The plasma levels of NO metabolites (NO2−+NO3−), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), bradykinin (BK), and systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI) were measured before CPB and 0, 12, and 24 h after CPB. The plasma level of NO metabolites increased gradually after CPB (pre-CPB, 26.3 ±4.4; 0h, 33.7±6.5; 12 h, 49.8±11.1; 24 h, 43.1±7.5 μM). SVRI decreased gradually after CPB (pre-CPB, 2361±364; 0h, 2048±216; 12 h, 1590±308; 24 h, 1727±435 dyne·s·cm−5·m2). There was a significant inverse correlation between SVRI and the plasma level of NO metabolites as a whole (r=−0.674,P<0.0001). No significant correlations were observed between SVRI and the other vasoactive substances PGE2 and BK. These findings demonstrated that NO production increased gradually during and after CPB in association with the decrease in SVR.