Assessing the safety of del Nido cardioplegia solution in adult congenital cases

Purpose: del Nido cardioplegia solution (CPS) has been successfully used for myocardial protection in the pediatric population. We propose this solution can be used safely in adult congenital patients. The proposed benefit of this solution is the avoidance of the need for repetitive interruption of the operation to administer multiple doses of standard cardioplegia. Methods: As part of a quality improvement initiative, 47 consecutive adult patients (mean age 40.9 years, range 18-71) undergoing congenital heart surgery were given del Nido CPS. Cardiac function was assessed pre- and post-operatively by echocardiography (ECHO). Inotrope use, troponin levels and restoration of cardiac rhythm were also evaluated. Results: The average duration of the longest ischemic time was 52.5 minutes 15.57 minutes. In patients receiving a single dose (40%, n=19) of CPS, the average ischemic time was 49.8 minutes +/- 18.8 minutes. No patients demonstrated any ventricular electrical activity while the aorta was cross-clamped. Post-operative ECHO showed that 94% (n=44) had no change in ejection fraction from the pre-operative ECHO. Patients requiring inotropic support at the time of leaving the operating room (OR) was 43% (n=20). The percentage of patients requiring inotropic support twenty-four hours post-operatively was 17% (n=8). Spontaneous restoration of cardiac rhythm (without the need for defibrillation) after cross-clamp removal occurred in 91% (n=43) of patients. The average troponin T level post-op was 1.86 +/- 2.9 mu g/L. Conclusions: del Nido CPS can be used for myocardial protection during adult congenital cardiac surgery without any apparent adverse effects. In addition, we were able to change our re-dosing protocol to 45 minutes with del Nido CPS compared to 20 minutes with our adult 4:1 blood CPS.