The Role of Desmopressin Acetate in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

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Abstract
The role of desmopressin acetate in attenuating blood loss and reducing homologous blood component therapy after cardiopulmonary bypass is unclear. The purpose of this investigation was to identify a subgroup of patients that may benefit from desmopressin acetate therapy. One hundred fifteen patients completed a prospective randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the effect of desmopressin acetate (0.3 microgram.kg-1) on mediastinal chest tube drainage after elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in patients with normal and abnormal platelet-fibrinogen function as diagnosed by the maximal amplitude (MA) on thromboelastographic (TEG) evaluation. The 115 patients evaluated were divided into two groups based on the MA of the post-cardiopulmonary bypass TEG tracing. Group 1 (TEG:MA greater than 50 mm) consisted of 86 patients, of whom 44 received desmopressin and 42 received placebo. Twenty-nine patients had abnormal platelet function (TEG:MA less than 50 mm) and were designated as group 2. In group 2, 13 received desmopressin and 16 placebo. During the first 24 h after cardiopulmonary bypass, the placebo-treated patients in group 2 had significantly greater mediastinal chest tube drainage when compared to placebo patients in group 1 (1,352.6 +/- 773.1 ml vs. 865.3 +/- 384.4 ml, P = 0.002). In addition to increases in blood loss, group 2 placebo patients also were administered an increased number of blood products (P less than 0.05). The desmopressin-treated patients in group 2 neither experienced increased mediastinal chest tube drainage nor received increased amounts of homologous blood products when compared to those in group 1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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