Cardiac surgery and inhaled nitric oxide: indication and follow-up (2-4 years).

We studied the effect of inhaled nitric oxide (NO) on 80 patients who had undergone cardiac surgery in our center. The indications for receiving NO inhalation and the number of patients were as follows: Pp/Ps > 0.5 for pulmonary hypertension (PH) (n = 32; 21 children and 11 adults), severe PH crisis (n = 9), high pulmonary vascular tone (Glenn pressure more than 18 mm Hg after bidirectional Glenn operation) or arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) less than 70% despite an FiO2 of 1.0 after Blalock-Taussig shunt (n = 6), mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) > 15 mm Hg and transpulmonary gradient (TPG) (mean PAP - left atrial pressure [LAP]) > 8 mm Hg after Fontan-type operation (n = 18), elevated pulmonary vascular tone (mean PAP > 30 mm Hg and left ventricular assist system [LVAS] flow rate < 2.5 L/min/m2) in patients with LVAS (n = 3), and impaired oxygenation (PaO2/FiO2 < 100 under positive end-expiratory pressure [PEEP] > 5 cm H2O) (n = 12). Low dose inhaled NO (10 ppm) had the following effects. In adult PH patients, it significantly reduced the mean PAP (from 37.3 to 27.0 mm Hg; average values are given) and increased the mean systemic arterial pressure (SAP) (64.7 to 75.3 mm Hg). In infant PH patients, it increased the mean SAP (51.8 to 56.1 mm Hg). In patients with a PH crisis, it significantly reduced the central venous pressure (CVP) (13.3 to 8.8 mm Hg) while increasing both the mean SAP (49.4 to 57.9 mm Hg) and PaO2/FiO2 (135 to 206). In patients after a Fontan-type operation, it significantly reduced the mean PAP (16.8 to 13.8 mm Hg) and TPG (9.5 to 5.8 mm Hg). In patients under LVAS, it reduced the CVP (11.7 to 8.0 mm Hg) and mean PAP (32.0 to 24.7 mm Hg). In impaired oxygenation patients, PaO2/FiO2 was increased (75 to 106). Sixty-five patients were all followed for 2.0-4.3 years (average, 3.1 years). All 65 patients remained free from oxygen requirement, and possible chronic adverse effects including the occurrence of malignant tumors or chronic inflammation in the respiratory tract were not observed.