Intraoperative Magnesium Sulphate Versus Nitroglyc-Erine Infusion Effect on Pulmonary Hypertension in Congenital Cardiac Defects

Background: Magnesium sulphate has been studied in pulmonary arterial hypertension in neonates; however no relevant studies discussed its effect on pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease, as one of the challenges facing pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist due to its detrimental effect in arterial oxygenation and ventilator dependence. Methodology: We tested this hypothesis by infusing magnesium sulphate all through the corrective surgical procedure and measuring Pulmonary artery pressure, oxygenation index and alveolar arterial oxygen difference. Results: Magnesium sulphate infusion caused 10% reduction in mean pulmonary artery pressure from 39113 to 3519 mmHg. There was statistically significant reduction in heart rate before cardio pulmonary bypass but was not associated with hemodynamic instability.Conclusion: Magnesium sulphate is a drug that could produce a reduction in pulmonary artery pressure associated with mild reduction in heart rate without occurrence of systemic hypotension