Pretreatment with aminophylline reduces release of Troponin I and neutrophil activation in the myocardium of patients undergoing cardioplegic arrest.

OBJECTIVE Cardioplegic arrest and subsequent reperfusion results in myocardial injury partly related to local inflammation in the heart. It has been proven that aminophylline has numerous anti-inflammatory effects. This study has been designed to evaluate the effects of aminophylline used as a cardioprotective agent for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) for valve replacement. METHODS Thirty patients undergoing elective valve replacement were randomized to receive either aminophylline (n=15), or normal saline (control n=15). Administration of aminophylline (5mg/kg) was injected intravenously after induction of anesthesia. The cardiac Troponin I (cTnI), myocardial myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, atrial cyclic AMP, and a coronary sinus neutrophil count were measured before and after cardioplegic arrest. RESULTS There were no differences between the two groups with regard to clinical variables. The cTnI concentration increased significantly after aortic declamping in both groups. However, it was significantly lower, 8h after aortic declamping, in aminophylline group (1.00+/-0.41 vs 2.37+/-1.35 ng/ml p=0.038). The atrial cAMP was significantly higher before aortic cross-clamping in aminophylline group (42.5+/-6.7 pmol/g tissue vs 30.6+/-12.4 pmol/g tissue p=0.04). In addition, we found that the aminophylline group had a significantly lower MPO after reperfusion (1.50+/-0.58 U/g tissue vs 0.86+/-0.24 U/g tissue p=0.003), and a significantly lower neutrophil count 30 min after aortic declamping (0.68+/-0.11x10(3) cell/ml vs 0.32+/-0.16x10(3) cell/ml, p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS Pretreatment with intravenous aminophylline reduces the subclinical myocardial injury and neutrophil activation in patients undergoing CPB for valve replacement.