Role of del Nido Cardioplegia Solution in Prolonged Aortic Cross-clamp Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Study

The myocardial-protective effect of del Nido cardioplegia solution was evaluated in adult patients undergoing prolonged aortic cross-clamping during cardiac surgery.

Prospective cohort.

Single-center tertiary academic medical center.

A total of 462 patients scheduled for cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass with an expected aortic cross-clamp time >120 minutes between January 2020 and January 2024 were enrolled.

Patients with an expected aortic cross-clamp time >120 minutes were randomly assigned to low- and high-risk del Nido and Buckberg groups, with 112 patients in each group. Serum levels of cardiac troponin T and creatine kinase-MB were measured at 1, 24, and 48 hours after operation. The occurrence of atrial fibrillation within 48 hours postoperatively and other intraoperative and postoperative parameters were recorded.

No significant differences were observed in preoperative parameters between the groups. The level of cardiac troponin T was significantly higher in the low-risk del Nido group than in the Buckberg group at 24 hours postoperatively (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in cardiac troponin T or creatine kinase-MB levels at the other time points. The incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation in the Buckberg group at 48 hours was significantly higher than the del Nido group in both the low- and high-risk groups (p < 0.05).

The incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation at 48 hours was significantly lower in the del Nido group than in the Buckberg group. del Nido cardioplegia solution can be safely used for high-risk patients undergoing prolonged aortic cross-clamping.