Assisted venous drainage, venous air, and gaseous microemboli transmission into the arterial line: an in-vitro study.

The objective of this study was to examine the interaction of cardiopulmonary bypass venous air with assisted venous drainage, focusing on its production of gaseous microemboli in the arterial line. An in-vitro recirculating cardiopulmonary bypass circuit containing fresh whole bovine blood was monitored with a pulsed-doppler microbubble detector. Air of specific amounts was injected into the venous line and gaseous microemboli counts were obtained distal to the arterial filter. Data was recorded for unassisted drainage, vacuum-assisted drainage, and centrifugal pump-assisted drainage. Centrifugal pump-assisted drainage produced over 300 microbubbles in one minute distal to the arterial filter when venous air was introduced into the circuit. Of these, 220 were greater than 80 microns in size. Vacuum-assisted drainage produced no microbubbles when the same amount of venous air was introduced into the circuit. However, vacuum-assisted drainage did produce some microbubbles in the arterial line when a stopcock was left open on the venous line for 30 seconds. Unassisted drainage produced no microbubbles at all levels of venous air entrainment. Air becomes entrained in the venous line from a variety of sources. In a typical gravity-drained situation, the air remains whole and is dissipated in the venous reservoir by buoyancy and filtration. In an assisted-drainage situation, the air is subjected to additional forces. The air is subjected to a greater degree of negative pressure and, with centrifugal pump assisted drainage, is subjected to kinetic energy imparted by the cones or vanes of the pump. The kinetic energy from the centrifugal pump appears to break the air into small bubbles which become suspended in the blood, passing through the reservoir, oxygenator, and arterial filter. In a clinical setting, these bubbles would be passed into a patient's arterial system.