Comparison of two cardiopulmonary bypass strategies with a miniaturized tubing system: a propensity score–based analysis

INTRODUCTION: The existing cardiopulmonary bypass tubing system has already been significantly improved in our hospital by reducing the priming volume; thus, we further employed a new cardiopulmonary bypass strategy in children based on a miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of new and conventional strategies by analyzing the outcomes after congenital heart surgery. METHODS: We performed a database analysis of all patients undergoing congenital heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at Shenzhen Children's Hospital from 1 May 2015 to 30 June 2017. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for significant covariates, and multivariable regression models and stratified analysis were used to assess the association of cardiopulmonary bypass strategy with outcomes. RESULTS: Of 925 total patients, 55.35% were in the conventional strategy group and 44.65% were in the new strategy group. After propensity score matching, there were 610 patients in total, with 305 patients in each group. In the multivariable regression models, the cardiopulmonary bypass strategy was not significantly associated with successful early extubation (p > 0.05), reintubation (p > 0.05), or nasal continuous positive airway pressure (p > 0.05) rates. The new strategy group had fewer hospital stays (p = 0.04) and intensive care unit stays (p < 0.05) compared with patients who underwent conventional strategy. The difference remained statistically significant (p < 0.05) when The Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery category was <3. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a new cardiopulmonary bypass strategy, with selective ultrafiltration based on a miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass circuit system, was safe and effective for children who underwent congenital heart surgery in a Chinese hospital. The new cardiopulmonary bypass strategy was associated with fewer hospital and intensive care unit stays.