Bronchospasm during cardiopulmonary bypass. Etiology and management.

Severe bronchospasm occurring after extracorporeal circulation is an unusual event. We report three such cases. Possible etiologies include activation of complement anaphylatoxins during cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac asthma, cold urticaria syndrome, exacerbation of preoperative bronchospastic disease, allergic reactions, drug-induced histamine release and beta-adrenergic blockade induced bronchospasm. The management and treatment of patients with this complication is reviewed.