Background: New era of cardiac surgery aims to provide an enhanced postoperative recovery by the implementation of every step of the process. Thus, perfusion strategy should adopt evidence-based measures to reduce the impact of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Hematic Antegrade Repriming (HAR) provides a standardized procedure combining several measures to reduce haemodilutional priming to 300 mL. Once the safety of the procedure in terms of embolic release has been proven, the evaluation of its beneficial effects in terms of transfusion and ICU stay should be assessed to determine if could be considered for inclusion in Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery (ERACS) programs. Methods: Two retrospective and non-randomized cohorts of high-risk patients, with similar characteristics, were assessed with a propensity score matching model. The treatment group (HG) (n=225) received the HAR. A historical cohort, exposed to a conventional priming with 1350 mL of crystalloid conformed the control group (CG) (n=210). Results: Exposure to any transfusion was lower in treated (66,75% vs 6,88%, p<0.01). Prolonged mechanical ventilation (>10h)  (26.51% vs 12.62%; p<0.01) and extended ICU stay (>2d) (47.47% vs 31.19%; p<0.01) were fewer for treated. HAR did not increase early morbidity and mortality. Related savings varied from 581 to  2741.94 $/patient, depending on if direct or global expenses were considered. Discussion:  By reducing the gaseous and crystalloid emboli during CPB initiation, HAR seem to have a beneficial impact in recovery and reduces the overall transfusion until discharge, leading to significant cost savings per process. Due to the preliminary and retrospective nature of the research and limitations, our findings should be validated by future prospective and randomized studies.

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Particulate and gaseous microemboli (GME) are side effects of cardiac surgery that interfere with postoperative recovery by causing endothelial dysfunction and vascular blockages. GME sources during surgery are multiple, and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is contributory to this embolic load. Hematic antegrade repriming (HAR) is a novel procedure that combines the benefits of repriming techniques with additional measures, by following a standardized procedure to provide a reproducible hemodilution of 300 ml. To clarify the safety of HAR in terms of embolic load delivery, a prospective and controlled study was conducted, by applying Doppler probes to the extracorporeal circuit, to determine the number and volume of GME released during CPB. A sample of 115 patients (n = 115) was considered for assessment. Both groups were managed under strict normothermia, and similar clinical conditions and protocols, receiving the same open and minimized circuit. Significant differences in GME volume delivery (control group [CG] = 0.28 ml vs. HAR = 0.08 ml; p = 0.004) and high embolic volume exposure (>1 ml) were found between the groups (CG = 30.36% vs. HAR = 4.26%; p = 0.001). The application of HAR did not represent an additional embolic risk and provided a four-fold reduction in the embolic volume delivered to the patient (coefficient, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.08–0.72; p = 0.01), which appears to enhance GME clearance of the oxygenator before CPB initiation.

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