Arterial venous bridge on cardiopulmonary bypass

An arterial venous bridge has been routinely interspaced between the arterial and the venous lines of the pump circuit during cardiopulmonary bypass at our institution for over 25 years. We have found it to be extremely useful in certain situations: (1) prepump priming and equipment failure; (2) recirculation of pump prime for fast cooling or rewarming; (3) shunting following valve surgery; (4) venous transfusion, retrograde cerebral perfusion during circulatory arrest, rapid initiation of retrograde perfusion in case of massive air embolism; and (5) ultrafiltration in patients with renal insufficiency.