Usefulness of Glycemic Control Using an Artificial Pancreas Apparatus for Cardiovascular Surgery

Blood glucose management is important for cardiovascular surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. The usefulness of an artificial pancreas apparatus (STG-55) to control blood glucose in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass was investigated. Subjects comprised 44 patients using the artificial pancreas during cardiopulmonary bypass between June 2016 and March 2017; 55 were initially enrolled, but 11 were excluded because of blood removal failure. Patients were divided into a monitoring group in which blood glucose levels were only monitored using the artificial pancreas (11 patients: six people with diabetes and 5 people without diabetes) and a management group with glycemic control by automatic insulin administration using the artificial pancreas (33 patients: people with diabetes and 21 people without diabetes). Mean maximum blood glucose levels and variation ranges significantly differed between the monitoring and management groups (p = 0.02). The variation range significantly differed between people with and without diabetes in the monitoring group (p = 0.008), but not in the management group. The artificial pancreas apparatus continuously and accurately reflected glycemic variations, facilitating strict and favorable control.