The influence of blood flow and arterial blood pressure during cardiopulmonary bypass on deltoid muscle gas tensions and body temperature after bypass.

The results of this study demonstrate that skeletal muscle perfusion during bypass requires high flows and mean arterial pressures and that use of vasopressors during bypass impairs skeletal muscle blood flow. Our findings also indicate that skeletal muscle perfusion during bypass decreases metabolic acidosis after operation and prevents decreases in body temperature and poor skeletal muscle blood flow in the post-bypass and early postoperative periods. Our results suggest that perfusing to maintain normal Pmo2 during extracorporeal circulation is superior to more conventional techniques of conducting bypass.