Global and regional cerebral blood flow in neonatal piglets undergoing pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass with continuous perfusion at 25°C and circulatory arrest at 18°C

To investigate the influence of hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (HCPB) at 25°C and circulatory arrest at 18°C on the global and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) during pulsatile perfusion, we performed the following studies in a neonatal piglet model. Using a pediatric physiologic pulsatile pump, we subjected six piglets to deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) and six other piglets to HCPB. The DHCA group underwent hypothermia for 25 min, DHCA for 60min, cold reperfusion for 10 min, and rewarming for 40 min. The HCPB group underwent 15 min of cooling, followed by 60 min of HCPB, 10min of cold reperfusion, and 30 min of rewarming. The following variables remained constant in both groups: pump flow (150 ml/kg/min), pump rate (150 bpm), and stroke volume (1 ml/kg). During the 60-min aortic crossclamp period, the temperature was kept at 18°C for DHCA and at 25°C for HCPB. The global and regional CBF (ml/100g/min) was assessed with radiolabeled microspheres. The CBF was 48% lower during deep hypothermia at 18°C (before DHCA) than during hypothermia at 25°C (55.2 ± 14.3 ml/100g/min vs 106.4 ± 19.7 ml/100g/min; p < 0.05). After rewarming, the global CBF was 45% lower in the DHCA group than in the HCPB group 48.3 ± 18.1 ml/100g/min vs (87 ± 35.9 ml/100g/min; p < 0.05). Fifteen minutes after the termination of CPB, the global CBF was only 25% lower in the DHCA group than in the HCPB group (42.2 ± 20.7 ml/100g/min vs 56.4 ± 25.8 ml/100g/min; p = NS). In the right and left hemispheres, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and brain stem, blood flow resembled the global CBF. In conclusion, both HCPB and DHCA significantly decrease the regional and global CBF during CPB. Unlike HCPB, DHCA has a continued negative impact on the CBF after rewarming. However, 15 min after the end of CPB, there are no significant intergroup differences in the CBF.