Protective Effects of N-Acetyl Cysteine on Cardiac Function in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Background: The preservation of cardiac function in diabetic patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) would result in improved prognoses in patients. Therefore, in this study, the protective effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on cardiac function in diabetic patients undergoing CABG were determined. Methods: This triple-blind, randomized, clinical trial study recruited 240 consecutive diabetic patients undergoing CABG in a referral tertiary health-care center, Hamadan, Iran. The patients were randomly assigned (simple random sampling) to receive either NAC or a placebo. In both groups, ischemic preconditioning was developed with a manometer cuff around the arm. The cuff was filled up to 200 mm Hg for 5 minutes before it was emptied to 0 mm Hg for 5 minutes. This technique was repeated 3 times. Results: The mean preoperative ejection fraction (EF) and the preoperative myocardial performance index (MPI) were the same in the 2 groups (P 0.05). The postoperative EF and the MPI were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P 0.05). The trend of changes in the EF and the MPI was not different between the groups (P 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that NAC in the ischemic preconditioning method did not create a significant effect compared with a placebo, which is in congruence with previous studies in animal models.