Effect of a miniaturized extracorporeal circulation (MECC System) on liver function

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Hepatology
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Cardiac surgery often requires cardiopulmonary bypass, impacting organ function.
• Conventional extracorporeal circulation (ECC) systems have known effects on liver function.
• Miniaturized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) systems aim to reduce complications associated with ECC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the impact of MECC systems versus conventional ECC on liver function in cardiac surgical patients.
• To assess liver function using indocyanine green (ICG) clearance and cardiac index (CI).

Main Methods:

• Utilized double indicator dilution with indocyanine green (ICG) to measure cardiac index (CI) and plasma disappearance rate of ICG (PDRig).
• Measurements were taken preoperatively, on ICU admission, and 6 hours postoperatively.
• Compared outcomes between patients undergoing cardiac surgery with MECC versus conventional ECC.

Main Results:

• Both MECC and conventional ECC groups showed significant increases in CI and PDRig post-cardiac surgery.
• No significant differences in CI or PDRig were observed between the MECC and conventional ECC groups.
• A significant correlation was found between the percentage increase in CI and the percentage increase in PDRig in both groups.

Conclusions:

• Liver function improves following cardiac surgery, irrespective of the extracorporeal circulation method used (MECC vs. ECC).
• The observed improvement in liver function may be linked to increased cardiac index.
• Differences in liver function (PDRig) between MECC and conventional ECC are minimal in patients without pre-existing liver conditions.