Short term effects of pulsatile perfusion in high risk patients

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pulsatile and non-pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in high risk patients. We compared clinical, hemodynamic, biochemical and hematologic parameters, arterial and venous blood gases, urine output, complement proteins, TNF-/spl alpha/, interleukins and S100/spl beta/ protein before the initiation of CPB, at the times of aortic cross-clamping and de-clamping, at Postoperative 1/sup st/ and 24/sup th/ hours. We concluded that pulsatile blood flow during CPB has favourable influence on inflamatory, physiologic and hematologic parameters in patients who have high risk for open heart surgery.