Demonstration and Operative Influence of Low Prime Volume Closed Pump

Various improvements have been made in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the past few decades. We designed a new type of CPB to reduce the secretion of systemic inflammatory markers. We used a low prime volume pump (LPVP), completely closed CPB circuit and examined coagulant factors and inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we demonstrate the efficacy of LPVP using molecular biological data. Fourteen patients were randomized prospectively into two groups: Group L patients underwent LPVP (n = 8) and Group N patients underwent normal prime volume CPB (n = 6). We measured thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), complement factor (C3a), and interleukin (IL)-10 levels at four time points. TAT (66.1 ± 15.1 ng·mL−1), C3a (1895 ± 282 ng·mL−1) and IL-10 (486 ± 114 pg·mL−1) levels in Group N were significantly higher than in Group L (TAT, 19.5 ± 4.4 ng·mL−1; IL-10, 105 ± 24.6 pg·mL−1; C3a, 1349 ± 369 ng·mL−1) immediately following CPB. LPVP demonstrated a lower systemic inflammatory response compared to normal prime volume CPB, as assessed using a molecular biological approach.