Priming and replenishment in cardiopulmonary bypass with hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 decreases fluid overbalance without renal dysfunction or bleeding in adult valve surgery

The best priming and replenishment solution in cardiopulmonary bypass remains unknown, and the efficacy and drawbacks of artificial colloid are controversial. We retrospectively compared consecutive patients undergoing elective adult valve surgery in cases wherein cardiopulmonary bypass was primed and replenished with hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 ( n = 12) or crystalloid solution ( n = 11). The fluid overbalance during cardiopulmonary bypass was much lower in the hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 group (mean ± standard deviation, + 95 ± 1241 mL) than in the crystalloid solution group (+ 2921 ± 1984 mL) ( P