A comparison of intracellular solutions for donor heart preservation

Numerous solutions have been advocated for the preservation of donor hearts, and there has been much interest in universal and intracellular preservation solutions. This study compared the effects of Euro-Collins, University of Wisconsin, and Bretschneider's solutions with the use of an in vitro human right atrial muscle preparation to assess recovery of function after a 24-hour period of simulated cardiac arrest. There were no statistically significant differences among groups in length, weight, cross-sectional area, initial developed force, or resting force of muscles, including those muscles that were contracted in Krebs-Henseleit solution and served as a control. After the 24-hour arrest period at either 4 degrees or 12 degrees C, the solution was changed back to Krebs-henseleit at 34 degrees C and recovery was assessed over 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, developed forces for muscles that were cooled to 4 degree C were 58.9%, 76.6%, and 60.7% of the control for Euro-Collins, University of Wisconsin, and Bretschneider's solutions, respectively (p = not significant). For those cooled to 12 degrees C, developed forces were 9.5%, 30.5%, and 95.6% of the control for Euro-Collins, University of Wisconsin, and Bretschneider's solutions (p = 0.0001). Bretscheider's solution resulted in greatly improved recovery compared with both Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions (p = 0.005), and University of Wisconsin solution was better than Euro-Collins solution (p = 0.02). Recovery of developed force was affected by temperature for Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001, respectively) but not for Bretschneider's solution. Resting force was elevated in muscles that were cooled in both Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions at 12 degrees C compared with almost normal values for Bretschneider's solution at either temperature (p = 0.07). Bretschneider's solution has a very high buffering capacity, which may be beneficial for long-term preservation. In conclusion, Bretschneider's solution resulted in the best recovery of human atrial myocardial function after a 24-hour preservation period compared with Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions and should be considered for use in donor heart transportation. The variability in quality of preservation at different temperatures with either Euro-Collins or University of Wisconsin solution make them less desirable as preservation solutions because uniform temperatures are seldom obtained during donor heart transplantation.