Background:
Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) is a solution commonly used for organ transplantation. However, there is no certified fixed regimen for on-pump heart surgery in neonates. We aimed to retrospectively evaluate the outcomes related to different HTK dosages and to analyze the safety of high-dosage perfusion.
Methods:
A total of 146 neonates who underwent on-pump heart surgery with single-shot HTK perfusion were divided into two groups according to HTK dosages: a standard-dose (SD) group (
n
= 63, 40 mL/kg < HTK ≤ 60 mL/kg) and a high-dose (HD) group (
n
= 83, HTK >60 mL/kg). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to control confounding bias.
Results:
The SD group had a higher weight (3.7 ± 0.4
vs.
3.4 ± 0.4 kg,
P
< 0.0001), a lower proportion of complete transposition of the great artery (69.8%
vs.
85.5%,
P
= 0.022), a lower cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time (123.5 [108.0, 136.0]
vs.
132.5 [114.8, 152.5] min,
P
= 0.034), and a lower aortic x-clamp time (82.9 ± 27.1
vs.
95.5 ± 26.0 min,
P
= 0.005). After PSM, 44 patients were assigned to each group; baseline characteristics and CPB parameters between the two groups were comparable. There were no significant differences in peri-CPB blood product consumption after PSM (
P
> 0.05). The incidences of post-operative complications were not significantly different between the two groups. There were no significant differences in ventilation time, intensive care unit stay, and post-operative hospital stay (
P
> 0.05). Follow-up echocardiography outcomes at 1 month, 3 to 6 months, and 1 year showed that left ventricular ejection fraction and end-diastolic dimension were comparable between the two groups.
Conclusions:
In neonatal on-pump cardiac surgery patients, single-shot HD (>60 mL/kg) HTK perfusion had a comparable heart protection effect and short-term post-operative prognosis as standard dosage perfusion of 40 to 60 mL/kg. Thus, this study provides supporting evidence of the safety of HD HTK perfusion.