Automatic control of arterial pressure after cardiac surgery. Evaluation of a microcomputer-based control system using glyceryl trinitrate and sodium nitroprusside.

Arterial hypertension after cardiac surgery is common and is associated with increased morbidity. Glyceryl trinitrate may be a more suitable agent for control of hypertension than sodium nitroprusside. We have developed a closed-loop system for the Atari 1040ST microcomputer to control arterial pressure by the simultaneous infusion of two vasodilators under computer control. Use of this system with glyceryl trinitrate and sodium nitroprusside in 24 patients who required vasodilators after cardiopulmonary bypass, revealed that hypertension was controlled by glyceryl trinitrate alone in 14 of the patients and 10 required supplementary sodium nitroprusside. The results suggest that glyceryl trinitrate is a suitable agent for control of hypertension after cardiac surgery in the majority of patients. They also show that a sizeable minority required additional sodium nitroprusside, and that an automated 'dual pump' system is a satisfactory method of administering two vasodilators in this way.