• R P Cochran, K S Kunzelman, C R Vocelka, H Akimoto, R Thomas, L O Soltow, and B D Spiess.
• Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-6310, USA. jasmite@u.washington.edu
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1997 May 1; 63 (5): 1326-32.

BackgroundPerfluorocarbon emulsion has proved beneficial in the prevention and amelioration of experimental air embolism. We examined whether the addition of perfluorocarbon to the prime solution could lead to a reduction in the incidence and severity of neurologic injury after the formation of a massive air embolism during cardiopulmonary bypass.MethodsFourteen pigs underwent bypass in which either a crystalloid prime solution or a perfluorocarbon prime solution (10 mL/kg) was used. Ten minutes into bypass a bolus (5 mL/kg) of air or saline (control) was delivered via the carotid artery. The resulting cerebral infarcts were graded on the basis of the findings in triphenyltetrazolium chloride-stained cerebral sections. Colored microspheres were used to measure cerebral blood flow. Bitemporal electroencephalography was used to evaluate cerebral function.ResultsCerebral infarction was not found in the perfluorocarbon-air group (0 to 5 animals), as compared with its occurrence in 3 of the 5 animals in the crystalloid-air group. Cerebral blood flow was also maintained or increased in the perfluorocarbon-air group (p < 0.05), and the electroencephalogram total power showed less of a decrease and recovered more completely (p < 0.05) than it did in the crystalloid-air group.ConclusionsThe addition of perfluorocarbon emulsion to the cardiopulmonary bypass prime solution leads to a reduction in the incidence and severity of neurologic injury after the formation of a massive air embolism during bypass.

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