Impact of heparin bonding on pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass: a prospective randomized study

BACKGROUND: Heparin-coated circuits reduce the inflammatory response to cardiopulmonary bypass in adult patients; however, little is known about its effects in the pediatric population. Two studies were performed to assess this technology's impact on inflammation and clinical outcomes. METHODS: In a pilot study, complement and interleukins were measured in 19 patients who had either uncoated cardiopulmonary bypass circuits or heparin-bonded circuits. Subsequently, 23 additional patients were studied in a randomized fashion. Respiratory function and blood product utilization were recorded. RESULTS: In the pilot study, heparin-bonded circuit patients had less complement 3a (p < 0.001) and interleukin-8 (p < 0.05) compared with uncoated cardiopulmonary bypass circuit patients. The randomized study revealed that the heparin-bonded circuit was associated with reduced complement 3a (p = 0.02). Multiple variable analysis revealed that the following postoperative variables were increased with bypass time (p = 0.01) and diminished with heparin-bonded circuits: interleukins (p = 0.01), peak airway pressures (p = 0.05), and prothrombin time (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Heparin-bonded circuits significantly reduce cytokines and complement during cardiopulmonary bypass and lower interleukin levels postbypass; they were also associated with improved pulmonary and coagulation function. Heparin-bonded circuits ameliorate the systemic inflammatory response in pediatric patients from cardiopulmonary bypass.