Advances in myocardial preservation have led to improved patient survival after open heart: operations. However, few studies have detailed the nature of national or regional patterns of cardioplegia use. To determine the regional pattern, all open heart surgery programs in Missouri were surveyed. During 1 year, it was found that cardioplegia was administered to 8,382 patients by 61 cardiothoracic surgeons at ten academic affiliated hospitals and 16 nonteaching hospitals. All cardioplegic solutions were hospital produced. Of 13 crystalloid solutions, 11 differed from one another and eight were intracellular formulations. Of 28 multidose blood-based cardioplegic solutions, there were 23 different mixtures. Most crystalloid (69%) and blood-based (89%) solutions differed substantially from commonly reported formulations. The incidences of the various additives to crystalloid solutions were as follows: bicarbonate, 92%; glucose, 69%; lidocaine, 54%; mannitol, 46%; magnesium, 31%; calcium, 23%; methylprednisolone, 15%; heparin, 8%; and acetate, 8%. Of the common blood-based cardioplegic solution additives, the following incidences were observed: glucose, 79%; bicarbonate, 43%; trishydroxyaminomethane, 36%; acetate, 29%; magnesium, 29%; procaine (or lidocaine), 25%; citrate-phosphate-dextrose, 18%; mannitol/albumin, 14%; nitroglycerin, 11%; glutamate/aspartate, 11%; calcium, 7%; insulin, 3%; and methylprednisolone, 3%. No calcium channel blocker or high-energy phosphate additives were reported. We conclude that many different cardioplegic admixtures that have not been tested experimentally are used routinely in clinical practice, presumably with acceptable results. Because the salutary effects of induced cardiac arrest and hypothermia may mask suboptimal solutions, further study of customized cardioplegia should be considered, particularly with regard to high-risk patients.
