[Correction of secondary immunodeficiency as a method of prevention of suppurative-septic complications after surgery with artificial blood circulation].

Eighty-five patients with acquired heart diseases with and without infective endocarditis (IE) were examined. In one group of patients traditional therapy was supplemented by the Russian drug immunofan, a synthetic hexapeptide with immunomodulating, antiinflammatory, and detoxifying effects. A course consisted of 10 intramuscular injections every other day (1 ml of 0.005% solution). The drug was prescribed after immunological studies on a laser flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, USA). Correction was carried out before and after the operation. The postoperative period was uneventful in patients treated with immunofan; the incidence of clinical manifestations of IE was decreased. The concentrations of cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha) in the blood were increased in patients with IE. In patients treated with immunofan, the concentrations of cytokines were decreased and immune parameters were normalized. Changes in the cytokine status can be used as a laboratory test for evaluating the efficiency of treatment in cardiosurgical patients with IE.