Purpose Inhaled milrinone (iMil) has been used for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) but its efficacy, safety, and prophylactic effects in facilitating separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and preventing right ventricular (RV) dysfunction have not yet been evaluated in a clinical trial. The purpose of this study was to investigate if iMil administered before CPB would be superior to placebo in facilitating separation from CPB.Methods High-risk cardiac surgical patients with PH were randomized to receive iMil or placebo after the induction of anesthesia and before CPB. Hemodynamic parameters and RV function were evaluated by means of pulmonary artery catheterization and transesophageal echocardiography. The groups were compared for the primary outcome of the level of difficulty in weaning from CPB. Among the secondary outcomes examined were the reduction in the severity of PH, the incidence of RV failure, and mortality. Results Of the 124 patients randomized, the mean (standard deviation [SD]) EuroSCORE II was 8.0 (2.6), and the baseline mean (SD) systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) was 53 (9) mmHg. The use of iMil was associated with increases in cardiac output (P = 0.03) and a reduction in SPAP (P = 0.04) with no systemic hypotension. Nevertheless, there was no difference in the combined incidence of difficult or complex separation from CPB between the iMil and control groups (30% vs 28%, respectively; absolute difference, 2%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -14 to 18; P = 0.78). There was also no difference in RV failure between the iMil and control groups (15% vs 14%, respectively; difference, 1%; 95% CI, -13 to 12; P = 0.94). Mortality was increased in patients with RV failure vs those without (22% vs 2%, respectively; P \ 0.001). Conclusion In high-risk cardiac surgery patients with PH, the prophylactic use of iMil was associated with favourable hemodynamic effects that did not translate into improvement of clinically relevant endpoints. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov; identifier: NCT00819377.
RésuméObjectif La milrinone inhalée est utilisée pour traiter l'hypertension pulmonaire (HP) mais son efficacité, son innocuité et ses effets prophylactiques pour faciliter le sevrage de la circulation extracorporelle (CEC) et prévenir la dysfonction ventriculaire droite (VD) n'ont pas encore été évalués dans le cadre d'une étude clinique. L'objectif de cette étude était d'examiner si la milrinone inhalée avant la CEC serait supérieure à un placebo pour faciliter le sevrage de la CEC. Méthode Des patients de chirurgie cardiaque à risque élevé et souffrant d'HP ont été randomisés à recevoir de la milrinone inhalée ou un placebo après l'induction de l'anesthésie et avant la CEC. Les paramètres hémodynamiques et la fonction VD ont été évalués à l'aide d'un cathéter de l'artère pulmonaire et d'une échocardiographie transoesophagienne. Les groupes ont été comparés selon notre critère d'évaluation principal, soit le niveau de difficulté du sevrage de la CEC. Parmi les critères...