[Effects of milrinone in patients undergoing cardiac surgery]

We investigated effects of milrinone in twenty consecutive patients (6 adults, 1 child, and 3 early infants) during cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The operations were: CABG 5, CABG+mitral valve repair 2, MVR 2, redo-MVR 4, aortic surgery 3 (total arch replacement 2), VSD+pulmonary hypertension 2 (infants), Tetralogy of Fallot 1, and PDA aneurysm 1 (infant). Ten minutes after release of aortic cross-clamp, all patients received milrinone by loading dose (50 micrograms/kg, bolus), followed by a continuous infusion of 0.5 or 0.75 microgram/kg/min. All of patients weaned from CPB with milrinone and low-dose of dopamine. The 75% of patients did not require any other drugs except for milrinone during post operative ICU stay. At the same time, we evaluated the effect of milrinone on platelet number in the patients before and after CPB. Milrinone administration did not cause significant changes in platelet number after CPB. No adverse effects attributable to this drug were found. Milrinone appears to be effective and safe in patients undergoing cardiac surgery of all kinds.