Clinical Research Directory

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.

Effect of L-Carnitine on Biomarkers of Myocardial Reperfusion Injury in Patients With STEMI

The study aims is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of L-Carnitine on biomarkers of myocardial reperfusion injury in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary PCI by the assessment of nitrotyrosine as an oxidative stress marker and Matrix metallopeptidase-2 (MMP-2) as a cardiac fibrosis marker

Trans-coronary Cooling and Dilution for Cardioprotection During Revascularisation for ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when an artery supplying blood to the heart is suddenly blocked resulting in damage to the heart muscle. Patients presenting to hospital with a heart attack undergo an immediate angiogram (x-ray of the arteries in the heart) and are usually treated immediately with a balloon and stent to open their blocked artery. This procedure is called "primary percutaneous coronary intervention" (or primary PCI for short). An angiogram is a routine procedure that involves insertion of fine plastic tube (catheter) into either the groin or wrist under local anaesthetic. The tube is passed into the artery in the heart and X-ray pictures are taken to find out if the arteries are blocked. Blocked arteries can usually be opened by passing a small balloon into the artery, via the fine plastic tube followed by placement of a stent (a fine metal coil) into the artery to prevent it from blocking again. Although this treatment is very successful, it can result in damage to the heart muscle when the artery is opened. Cooling the entire body has been shown to reduce heart muscle damage during heart attacks in some patients but not in others; however, it is uncomfortable due to the shivering, expensive and can result in delays in opening the blocked artery. The investigators are conducting a series of research studies to find out if cooling the heart muscle directly through the catheter being used for the normal primary angioplasty treatment using room temperature may be effective in preserving heart muscle, without the shortcomings of entire body cooling. The investigators have already published an initial series of ten cases in which this treatment appeared to be feasible without causing significant clinical problems. The present study is a pilot study designed to assess the rate of patient recruitment and feasibility of this new treatment while exploring some detailed outcomes measuring the restoration of blood flow within the coronary artery at the end of the procedure. Ultimately if the present pilot study is successful, the investigators plan to go on to undertake a much larger randomised outcome study to determine definitively whether this treatment can help reduce heart attack size.