Platelet Dysfunction in Cardiopulmonary Bypass: An Experimental Comparative Study between a Centrifugal and a New Pulsatile Pump

The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of a new pulsatile pump for extracorporeal circulation (ECC) on platelet count and platelet function with respect to a Biomedicus centrifugal pump. Thirteen pigs, 8 in the pulsatile group (PG) and 5 in the centrifugal group (CG), underwent a partial extracorporeal circulation lasting 3 h. The animals were sacrificed 3 h post-ECC. The platelet study was both quantitative (platelet count) and qualitative (platelet function analysis) by assessing the closure time (CT) with a PFA-100 system. The decrease in platelet number from basal to 3 h post ECC was only significant in CG (p = 0.009). The platelet function was impaired in both groups, but the value of CT with col/ADP increased significantly only in CG (p < 0.001). The increase of CT with col/EPI was greater in CG (p = 0.07) than in PG (p = 0.2). The results indicated that the new pulsatile pump preserves platelets quantitatively and qualitatively well compared to a Biomedicus pump.