Clinical Research Directory

Influence of Personalized Lung Volume Optimization Maneuver on Lung Function and Cardiac Performance in Children

The goal of this randomized interventional clinical trial is to learn if a standardized lung volume optimization maneuver (LVOM) is beneficial in 1. study) children undergoing biventricular repair of their congenital heart disease (CHD) with cardiopulmonary bypass and 2. study) in children with severe respiratory failure at risk for or need for ECMO. The main questions it aims to answer are: Main hypotheses of CHD study: Does a standardized PEEP-Titration maneuver, to optimize end-expiratory lung volume improve: * cardiac performance * lung function Does it make a difference in: * length of ventilation * ventilation/perfusion mismatch of the lung * need for vasopressor support? Main hypotheses of ECMO study: Does a LVOM in children/infants with severe respiratory failure /ARDS * improve lung compliance and gas exchange * facilitate lung protective ventilation according to PALICC-2 guidelines * improve lung aeration and V/Q-matching assessed with EIT Does it make a difference in * need for ECMO * duration of ECMO runs * hemodynamics stability

CompaRison of FEmorofemoral Bypass and Left-Heart ByPass Techniques in Open Thoracoabdominal AortIc Aneurysm Repair

The study is a multicenter, two-arm, open-label, randomized, parallel-controlled trial, which plans to enroll 236 participants diagnosed with TAAA from 4 hospitals in China. All patients receive TAAAR procedure and are randomized to control group (LHB) and experimental group (fCPB) in the ratio of 1:1. After a 1-year follow-up, the validity and safety of the different cardiopulmonary bypass for TAAAR is evaluated via the incidence of major adverse events including surgical mortality, RRT, stroke, and SCI, as well as intraoperative blood product transfusion volume, mechanical ventilation, and early mortality.

ARTEMIS: Ravulizumab to Protect Patients With CKD From CSA-AKI and MAKE

The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of a single dose of ravulizumab IV compared with placebo in reducing the risk of the clinical consequences of AKI (MAKE) at 90 days in adult participants with CKD who undergo non-emergent cardiac surgery with CPB.

Effect of Hypothermia on BIS and PSI Correlation During Cardiopulmonary Bypass

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate whether hypothermia affects the relationship between electroencephalography-derived indices during cardiac surgery in adult patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the correlation between Bispectral Index (BIS) and Patient State Index (PSI) change between normothermic and hypothermic phases during cardiopulmonary bypass? How do BIS and PSI values change in response to decreasing body temperature? Participants will: Undergo standard general anesthesia for elective on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery Be monitored simultaneously with BIS and PSI devices during surgery Have data recorded at predefined temperature-based time points during cardiopulmonary bypass

Influence of Lung Volume Optimization Maneuver in Ventilated Children on Cardiac Output and Lung Compliance in Children With Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Surgical Repair

The goal of this randomized interventional clinical trial is to learn if a standardized lung volume optimization maneuver (LVOM) is beneficial in children undergoing biventricular repair of their congenital heart disease (CHD) with cardiopulmonary bypass. Main hypotheses: Does a standardized PEEP-Titration maneuver, to optimize end-expiratory lung volume improve: * cardiac performance * lung function Does it make a difference in: * length of ventilation * ventilation/perfusion mismatch of the lung * need for vasopressor support?

Research on Circulation Management Strategy Based on Oxygen Metabolism Balance After CHD Surgery

The objective is to investigate a goal-oriented postoperative circulation management strategy centered on "oxygen metabolism balance". This strategy is independent of the absolute metrics of oxygen supply and consumption, and aims to enhance oxygen consumption and uptake within the critical "golden 8 hours" following pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass, thereby preventing severe hypotension, cardiopulmonary arrest, and other adverse events.

Comparison of Milrinone and Epinephrine on TAPSE

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a critical technology in cardiac surgery, allowing for the temporary replacement of the heart and lung functions during intricate surgical procedures. it has significant post-surgical complications, the most important complications of CPB is right ventricle (RV) dysfunction. Diagnosis and management of RV dysfunction is crucial for maintenance of hemodynamic stability and organ function in early post-operation period and prognostic for later phase.

Intravenous Fish Oil Based Lipid Emulsion to Enhance Recovery in High-Risk Cardiac Surgery Patients

The MODIFY CSX study is a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted in heart centers in Germany and Italy. A total of 550 high-risk cardiac surgery patients will receive either 0.20 g fish oil/kg body weight (BW) + standard of care versus same volume of placebo (NaCl) + standard of care.

GLS in Difficult CPB Weaning

The goal of this observational study is to learn whether global longitudinal strain (GLS), measured by echocardiography, can predict difficulty separating from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can preoperative GLS measurement predict difficult separation from CPB? * Are GLS values associated with outcomes such as intensive care unit (ICU) stay, hospital stay, cardiac biomarkers, or 30-day mortality? Participants will: * Undergo standard cardiac surgery requiring CPB * Have echocardiographic assessments (TTE before and after surgery) * Have their recovery and outcomes monitored, including ICU and hospital stay, postoperative labs, and survival within 30 days

Safety and Performance Evaluation of CPB Venous and Arterial Cannulas

This is a two-phase study evaluating the Eurosets arterial and venous cannulas for use during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures. Phase 1 is a pilot study focused on assessing cannula safety. Phase 2 is a pivotal study aimed at confirming safety and evaluating efficacy through comparison with Medtronic cannulas (control group). The results will be compared for non-inferiority with those obtained using the control group cannulas.

Protective Effect of Probacine Against Negative Gut Metabolism and Organ Dysfunction After Cardiovascular Surgery (PANDA IV)

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be the primary cause of illness and death globally, emphasizing the pressing requirement for efficient prevention methods. Recent studies indicate that the gut microbiome plays a vital role in maintaining cardiovascular health, affecting the pathophysiological mechanisms related to CVDs. The potential therapeutic strategies for primary care practitioners included the modulation of the gut microbiome through dietary changes, prebiotics, and probiotics. The aim of this study was to investage the effect of gut microbiome modulation on clinical outcomes after cardiac surgery.

Delayed Cold-Stored Platelets -PLTS-1

PLTS-1 is a multicentre, randomized, controlled, pilot trial, using a conventional, parallel group, two-armed design at 2 cardiac surgery centres in Canada. The study is designed to assess the feasibility of a future, definitive RCT to determine the non-inferiority of cold-stored platelets compared to conventional platelets with respect to hemostatic effectiveness (total number of allogeneic blood products transfused within 24 hours after CPB), as well as safety.

Heart-Lung Machine: Impact of the Priming Solution on Acid-Base Balance, Electrolytes and Outcome on Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Most cardiac surgery procedures requires the use of heart-lung machine. The heart-lung machine circuit needs to be filled with a fluid before connecting it to the patients circulation. This is called priming and is accomplished by filling the circuit with a solution used for fluid replacement. The circuit in our institution requires 1100 mL to be filled. The body has several mechanisms with the purpose to maintain its state of balance. When a large amount of clear solution suddenly enters the blood stream this balance can be altered. The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate different priming solutions in the heart-lung machine circuit. The main questions it aims to answer are: How do different priming solutions alter the acid-base balance, osmolality and electrolytes which reflects the body's water balance for patients undergoing cardiac surgery with the use of heart-lung machine? There will be 4 different groups: 1. Ringer-Acetate, 1100 mL / no addition 2. Ringer-Acetate, 1100 mL + 80 mmol sodium chloride (NaCl) 3. Ringer-Acetate, 1100 mL + 160 mmol NaCl 4. Plasmalyte, 1100 mL / no addition Blood samples will be taken before, during and after surgery, post operative day 1 and 4 to analyze acid-base balance, electrolytes, and plasma osmolality. Urine output and hydration status will also be collected until post operative day 1. After 3 months, a blood sample will be taken for analysis of electrolytes and kidney function.

Effective Myocardial Protection Time of Del Nido Cardioplegia in Adult Cardiac Surgery

This single-center, prospective, observational cohort study quantifies the effective myocardial protection window of Del Nido cardioplegia during adult open-heart surgery performed under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and aortic cross-clamp (ACC). Without altering routine care, time-stamped high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) measurements will be obtained at predefined intraoperative and early postoperative intervals to identify the inflection ("change-point") at which biochemical evidence of ischemic injury begins to rise. Eighty adults undergoing elective valve and/or thoracic aortic procedures with Del Nido cardioplegia will be enrolled. The primary endpoint is the intraoperative hs-cTn change-point time referenced to ACC. Secondary endpoints include associations between change-point and ACC duration, the presence/timing of any re-dose, and early clinical outcomes (e.g., low cardiac output syndrome, maximum VIS in the first 24 h, new arrhythmia or pacemaker need, acute kidney injury by KDIGO, ventilation hours, ICU/hospital length of stay, 30-day MACE and mortality). All cardioplegia choices (dose, route, temperature, re-dose decisions) remain per standard practice; no experimental therapy is administered. Risks are minimal and limited to small-volume blood sampling coordinated with routine draws.

Remimazolam vs Midazolam to Reduce Delirium in Adults ≥65 Undergoing CPB Valve Surgery

"Postoperative delirium is a common and serious complication following cardiac surgery, particularly among older adults who require intensive care. Its incidence is reported to range between 20% and 70% after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and has been associated with prolonged hospitalization, increased medical costs, higher morbidity and mortality, and long-term cognitive decline. Benzodiazepines are frequently used during anesthetic induction in cardiac surgery due to favorable hemodynamic stability, although multiple clinical guidelines have recommended limitation of benzodiazepine exposure because of concerns for delirium. However, robust clinical evidence in cardiac surgery remains limited. Midazolam is currently the most commonly administered benzodiazepine in this setting, though metabolism through hepatic pathways and accumulation of active metabolites may increase the risk of postoperative delirium, especially in older patients and those with organ dysfunction. Remimazolam, a recently approved benzodiazepine, undergoes rapid hydrolysis by plasma esterases and demonstrates predictable pharmacokinetic properties with a markedly shorter context-sensitive half-time compared to midazolam. These pharmacologic features suggest a potentially reduced impact on postoperative delirium risk. Despite this rationale, no randomized controlled trial has evaluated the effect of remimazolam versus midazolam on delirium after CPB-assisted valve surgery. This randomized double-blind controlled trial aims to determine whether remimazolam reduces the incidence of postoperative delirium compared with midazolam in patients aged ≥65 years undergoing valve surgery with CPB. Eligible participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either remimazolam or midazolam for anesthetic induction according to a computer-generated allocation sequence. All other anesthetic management will follow standardized institutional protocols, including depth of anesthesia monitoring. Delirium assessment will be performed three times daily in the intensive care unit using Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) or Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) and twice daily on the ward using 3-Minute Diagnostic Interview for CAM (3D-CAM) for four postoperative days. The primary endpoint is the incidence of delirium within four postoperative days. Key secondary outcomes include in-hospital or 30-day mortality and a composite of major postoperative complications. A total of 300 patients (150 per group) will be enrolled to provide 90% statistical power to detect the hypothesized difference in delirium risk between groups, accounting for a 10% dropout rate. Findings from this study are expected to provide high-quality evidence regarding the comparative impact of remimazolam and midazolam on postoperative delirium and may inform anesthetic strategy selection in high-risk cardiac surgical populations."

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Induced Red Blood Cell Lysis

Studying the dynamics of red blood cell lysis, pfH, protective proteins and organ injury, limits will be set for safe levels of pfH following the use of CPB. These results will be compared to existing laboratory-based methods for determining red blood cell damage to predict CPB assist device safety. Further, results from the studies described in this proposal will help develop therapeutic strategies to benefit patients by early detection of pfH and clearance protein levels that occur during CPB.

Autologous Cold-stored Apheresis Platelets

The Auto-PLTS Study is a single-centre trial performed at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) that uses a randomized, patient preference design. The recent introduction of cold-stored platelets with a shelf-life of 14 days into clinical practice has made it possible to offer autologous apheresis platelet predonation to patients undergoing elective cardiac (and other high-blood-loss) surgeries while allowing sufficient time to recover platelet count before surgery. The Auto-PLTS Study is designed to assess whether replacing allogeneic platelets with autologous platelets will improve patient outcomes and benefit the healthcare system by reducing the burden on allogeneic platelet supply. The study is also designed to determine whether patients are willing to donate autologous platelets 7-10 days prior to surgery.

Nitric Oxide for Reduced Intensive Support in Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Cardiac surgery is a procedure that is commonly performed worldwide. Despite these technological advances, cardiac surgery remains a high-risk surgery. Among post-operative complications, acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke as well as cognitive dysfunction are significant causes of mortality in patients undergoing and following cardiac surgery. Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) therapy as a selective pulmonary vasodilator in cardiac surgery has been one of the most significant pharmacological advances in managing pulmonary hemodynamics and life threatening right ventricular dysfunction and failure. In addition, newer applications show greater promise of inhaled NO as a therapy in the area of cardiac surgery associated acute kidney injury and ischemia reperfusion. However, this remarkable expectation to inhaled NO has experienced a roller-coaster ride with high hopes and nearly universal demonstration of physiological benefits but disappointing translation of these benefits to harder clinical outcomes, like mortality. Most of our understanding on the iNO field in cardiac surgery stems from small observational or single center randomized trials, which failed to ascertain strong evidence base. As a consequence, there are only week clinical practice guidelines on the field and only European expert opinion for the use of iNO in routine and more specialized cardiac surgery. There is need for a large multicenter randomized controlled study to confirm the administration of iNO as an effective weapon for the battle against life threatening complication in high risk cardiac surgical patients. In a previous meta analysis with 27 studies included, we demonstrated that inhaled nitric oxide (NO) could reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and reducing biomarkers of organ injury and clinical signs of organ dysfunction in cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) , but had no significance in the ICU stay, hospital stay, and mortality. This may be attributed to the small sample size of the most included studies (of the 27 studies included, 20 studies with sample size less than 100) and heterogeneity in timing, dosage and duration of iNO administration. Well-designed, large-scale, multicenter clinical trials are needed to further explore the effect of iNO in improving postoperative prognosis in cardiovascular surgical patients. We are planning a large multicenter controlled randomized trial to demonstrate that inhaled nitric oxide can reduce composite outcome of death and Major Adverse Events (MAEs), including need for intensive supports due to heart failure, low cardiac output sydrome, or renal failure, respiratory failure, etc., and myocardial infarction, stroke, and sepsis at 30 days after surgery from 20% to 16% in patient undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. If the hypothesis had been proved and validated, the results of this study can provide strong evidence for guidelines to facilitate the routine use of iNO in all cardiopulmonary bypass assisted cardiac procedures with 31,800 postoperative outcomes improved per year in US and in China.

Ultrasound Guided Bilateral Pectoral Nerve Block Versus Bilateral Transverse Thoracic Plane Block In Pediatric Patients Undergoing Corrective Cardiac Surgeries Requiring Cardiopulmonary Bypass Via Median Sternotomy

This randomized, double-blinded, study aims to compare the efficacy of intraoperative and postoperative pain control while using bilateral ultrasound guided the pectoral nerves (PECS) versus transversus thoracic muscle plane block (TTPB) in pediatric patients undergoing corrective cardiac surgeries.

Prophylactic Methylprednisolone for Renal Protection in Cardiac Surgeries With Cardiopulmonary Bypass

The aim of the planned study is to assess the prophylactic effect of intraoperative administration of a single dose of methylprednisolone 2 (mg/kg) in decreasing the incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury after cardiac surgeries with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Low-dose Dexmedetomidine and Postoperative Delirium After Cardiac Surgery

Delirium is an acutely occurred and fluctuating cerebral dysfunction characterized with inattention, altered consciousness, cognitive decline and/or abnormal perception. It is common in the elderly after cardiac surgery and is associated with worse outcomes. Causes leading to delirium are multifactorial but sleep disturbances remains an important one. In previous studies, sedative-dose dexmedetomidine improves sleep quality in ICU patients with mechanical ventilation; and low-dose dexmedetomidine improves sleep quality in postoperative patients without mechanical ventilation. In recent studies of elderly after noncardiac surgery, night-time infusion of low-dose dexmedetomidine reduces delirium and improves 2-year survival. The investigators hypothesize that, for elderly patients after cardiac surgery, night-time infusion of dexmedetomidine may also improve sleep quality, reduce delirium development and improve 2-year survival.

Influence of Oxygenator Selection on Platelet Function and Rotational Thromboelastometry Following Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Open-heart surgery requires temporarily stopping the heart and lungs and diverting the patient's blood to an outside system that takes over the function of the heart and lungs. This is possible through the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) which diverts blood, through plastic tubing, to a heart-lung machine which includes an oxygenator. The external oxygenator works as an artificial lung. This allows cardiac surgeons to operate in a field that is free of blood, while the patient's body continues to receive healthy blood. CPB is an advanced medical technology that allows for heart surgeries, such as coronary artery bypass, heart valve surgery, and procedures involving major blood vessels. It is recognized that there are many risks associated with its use, including microscopic stress exerted on blood components by the oxygenator and tubing, which can lead to irreversible damage to the blood cells. This effect can contribute to bleeding during and after surgery. This type of bleeding can be difficult to monitor and treat, especially given the limited access to point-of-care blood testing to inform clinicians on what part of the blood is failing to function properly. The investigators will use a point-of-care machine called Plateletworks to test the function of platelets during surgeries which require CPB. Platelets are an important part of blood that help stop bleeding by forming clots. At the investigators' institution two oxygenators are currently used interchangeably. These oxygenators have different properties that may impact how platelets function. This project will help determine if using a higher pressure oxygenator increases the risk of patients bleeding. Additionally, the investigators will compare the platelet data from Plateletworks to data collected from rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM). This will yield valuable data about commonly used oxygenators and tests which can ultimately improve patient care.

Amobarbital and Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Explore the effects of amobarbital on myocardial protection and prognosis in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, investigate the new usage of old drugs, and provide reliable clinical scientific basis for its potential value in better clinical treatment.

Protective Effect of RIPC Against Negative Inflammatory Response and Organ Dysfunction After Cardiovascular Surgery (Panda VII)

Remote ischaemic pre-conditioning (RIPC) has been recognized as a low-cost, non-invasive intervention method by applying brief ischaemia and reperfusion on an arm or a leg. Previous studies have mainly focused on the organoprotective effects of RIPC in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. However, whether it has an organ-protecting effect is still highly debated. We aimed to determine whether intensive RIPC can prevent from negative inflammatory response and organ dysfunction as well as postoperative complications in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.