Pretreatment with glucose–insulin–potassium improves ventricular performances after coronary artery bypass surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Heart failure is the main cause of poor outcome following open heart surgery and experimental studies have demonstrated that glucose–insulin–potassium (GIK) infusion exerts cardioprotective effects by reducing myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injuries. This randomized controlled trial was designed to assess the effects of GIK on left ventricular function in moderate-to-high risk patients undergoing on-pump isolated coronary artery bypass surgery (CABGS), or combined with aortic valve replacement. The primary outcomes were the effects of GIK on two- and three-dimensional left ventricular ejection fraction (2D and 3D-LVEF), and on transmitral flow propagation velocity (Vp), that occurred between the pre- and post-CPB periods. GIK administration was associated with favorable interaction effects (p