Some of the sites with potential for nitric oxide release in vivo are removed during conventional saphenous vein harvesting. These sites were preserved after no-touch harvesting, suggesting the potential to improve coronary artery bypass graft patency.

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Spasm and consequent dilation of the saphenous vein (SV) for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can be avoided if the vein is harvested with its surrounding tissue. Morphologic techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, were used to compare endothelial cell integrity using three SV harvesting procedures: conventional (adventitial stripping of the vein, manual distention and storing in saline); intermediate (after adventitial stripping, the vein was left in situ, covered with a papaverine-soaked compress, and stored in heparinized blood); and "no-touch" (SV dissected with its surrounding tissue was left in situ, covered with a saline-soaked compress and stored in heparinized blood). Preservation of endothelial cell integrity was greater with the "no-touch" procedure than with the other methods. Since endothelial cell integrity of SV grafts may affect the patency rate, we conclude that the "no-touch" preparation should improve the results of CABG.

OBJECTIVE Adenosine as an additive in blood cardioplegia is cardioprotective in animal studies, but its clinical role in myocardial protection remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of adenosine in continuous cold blood cardioplegia would enhance myocardial protection. METHODS In a prospective double-blind study comparing adenosine 400 μmol l(-1) to placebo in continuous cold blood cardioplegia, 80 patients undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement were randomized into four groups: antegrade cardioplegia with adenosine (n = 19), antegrade cardioplegia with placebo (n = 21), retrograde cardioplegia with adenosine (n = 21) and retrograde cardioplegia with placebo (n = 19). Myocardial arteriovenous differences in oxygen and lactate were measured before, during and after aortic occlusion. Myocardial concentrations of adenine nucleotides and lactate were determined from left ventricular biopsies obtained before aortic occlusion, after bolus cardioplegia, at 60 min of aortic occlusion and at 20 min after aortic occlusion. Plasma creatine kinase (CK-MB) and troponin T were measured at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 h after aortic occlusion. Haemodynamic profiles were obtained before surgery and 1, 8 and 24 h after cardiopulmonary bypass. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used for significance testing. RESULTS Adenosine had no effects on myocardial metabolism of oxygen, lactate and adenine nucleotides, postoperative enzyme release or haemodynamic performance. When compared with the antegrade groups, the retrograde groups showed higher myocardial oxygen uptake (17.3 ± 11.4 versus 2.5 ± 3.6 ml l(-1) at 60 min of aortic occlusion, P < 0.001) and lactate accumulation (43.1 ± 20.7 versus 36.3 ± 23.0 µmol g(-1) at 60 min of aortic occlusion, P = 0.052) in the myocardium during aortic occlusion, and lower postoperative left ventricular stroke work index (27.2 ± 8.4 versus 30.1 ± 7.9 g m m(-2), P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS Adenosine 400 μmol l(-1) in cold blood cardioplegia showed no cardioprotective effects on the parameters studied. Myocardial ischaemia was more pronounced in patients receiving retrograde cardioplegia.

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