Improving cardiopulmonary bypass: heparin-coated circuits.

Heparin-coated circuits have been repeatedly proven to reduce the inflammatory response and foreign surface activation triggered upon initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In recent years, increasing numbers of studies are proving significant reductions in postoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements and improvements in clinical outcomes as a result of heparin-coated circuits. These results are promising steps in our efforts to improve CPB, as our patient population gets older and more complicated.