Perioperative Rosuvastatin in Cardiac Surgery

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery were randomly assigned to rosuvastatin or placebo. The groups did not differ significantly in the rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation or in the area under the troponin-release curve. Acute kidney injury was more common with rosuvastatin. Despite advances in surgical and perioperative care, postoperative complications after cardiac surgery remain frequent, leading to substantial increases in mortality, morbidity, and costs. 1 Inflammation and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation and other postoperative complications of cardiac surgery. 2 In particular, the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation coincides with the peak of the systemic inflammatory response after cardiac surgery, 2 is independently associated with atrial markers of oxidative stress, 3 , 4 and has been reported to be partially prevented by antiinflammatory drugs. 5 , 6 Statins have been shown to have rapid antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects 7 ; for example, 3 . . .