Bradykinin and cysteinyl leukotriene concentrations in cell-salvaged blood before and after passage through negatively charged filters during clinical use in cancer patients: a pilot study.

It has been suggested that giving cell-salvaged blood through a leucocyte depletion filter can cause hypotension due to bradykinin released when factor XII and platelets are activated by the negatively charged surface of the filter. We measured the concentration of bradykinin and cysteinyl leukotrienes in cell-salvaged blood sampled before and after passage through a negatively charged leucodepletion filter in 24 consecutive patients with gynaecological or bowel cancer undergoing elective surgery with cell salvage. In no case was an increase in bradykinin concentration observed after passage through the filter; in 23 patients the post-filtration bradykinin concentration was zero (p = 0.007). The change in the concentration of cysteinyl leukotrienes detected during passage across the filter was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). Our findings do not support the suggestion that either bradykinin or cysteinyl leukotrienes are generated in cell-salvaged blood during passage through leucodepletion filters.