Our experience with two cardioplegic solutions: dextrose versus non-dextrose in adult cardiac surgery

Intraoperative hyperglycemia has been observed to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery. Dextrose cardioplegia is used for its cardioprotective effects but may lead to intraoperative hyperglycemia and more postoperative complications. This was a retrospective observational study. Patient records (n = 2301) were accessed from a large database at a tertiary care facility. The two groups (dextrose vs. nondextrose) were then matched using preoperative variables of age, sex, body mass index, wound exposure time, preoperative HbA1c levels, renal failure, hypertension, and prior cerebrovascular disease. The following outcomes were recorded: 30-day mortality, sternal wound infection, stroke, and highest glucose level on cardiopulmonary bypass. The dextrose cardioplegia group showed statistically higher intraoperative glucose levels (272.76 +/- 55.92 vs. 182.79 +/- 45, p value = .0001). There was no difference in postoperative mortality, sternal wound infections or stroke incidence, nor in other secondary outcomes. The type of cardioplegia solution was shown to affect glucose levels; however, there was no effect on postoperative complication rates.