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Prophylactic Administration of Levosimendan in Patients Undergoing Coronary Surgery

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Coronary Artery Disease
Interventions
Drug: Placebo infusion
Registration Number
NCT01318460
Lead Sponsor
AHEPA University Hospital
Brief Summary

The present pilot study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the preoperative infusion of levosimendan in patients with impaired left ventricular function undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Detailed Description

Myocardial revascularization in patients with impaired left ventricular function remains a serious problem in cardiac surgery. Despite the recent developments with the use of new surgical techniques (mini-extracorporeal circulation, off pump surgery) the perioperative morbidity and mortality are relatively high. Therapeutic solutions with the use of inotropic drugs, as adrenergic agonists and phosphodiesterase inhibitors, have offered important improvement to the hemodynamic status of these patients, but they have not considerably decreased mortality. These drugs owe their positive inotropic action to the increase of intracellular calcium and thereafter they improve the myocardial function.

Levosimendan (SIMDAX) is a new calcium sensitizer which increases the myocardial contractility without particular promotion of the intracellular calcium accumulation. Contemporary experimental and clinical data demonstrated the effectiveness of this drug in the reduction of surgical mortality to the patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

This is an original prospective randomized controlled study focused on the preoperative use of this drug in patients with impaired left ventricular function which is associated with a high operative risk (i.e. EuroSCORE). Perioperative myocardial stunning is particularly evident in this cohort of patients. Prophylactic administration of levosimendan the day before the operation could be translated in improved myocardial performance intraoperatively and during the early postoperative period.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
32
Inclusion Criteria
  • coronary artery disease which warrants myocardial revascularization with coronary artery bypass grafting according to current guidelines
  • age < 79 years old
  • left ventricular ejection fraction <= 40%
  • informed patient's consent
Exclusion Criteria
  • age < 18 years old
  • emergency surgery
  • medical history of acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation (STEMI) less than 14 days old
  • any severe comorbidity which increases the perioperative risk (i.e. neoplasia, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • need for valvular replacement surgery
  • redo surgery
  • serum creatinine > 2 mg/dl
  • history of malignant cardiac arrhythmias

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
LevosimendanLevosimendan infusionPatients treated with prophylactic administration of levosimendan
Placebo groupPlacebo infusionPatients managed with placebo administration
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Left ventricular functionSeventh postoperative day

Left ventricular function as assessed by transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography on the seventh postoperative day

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Total ICU stay1st-7th postoperative day
Morbidity1st-7th postoperative day
Perioperative mortality30 days postoperatively
Inotropic support1st-7th postoperative day

Need for high inotropic support

Time on mechanical ventilation1st-7th postoperative day
Need for intraaortic balloon pump1st-7th postoperative day
Total length of hospital stay1st-7th postoperative day
Major adverse cardiovascular events1st-7th postoperative day

Perioperative myocardial infarction, stroke, need for revascularization)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, AHEPA University Hospital

🇬🇷

Thessaloniki, Greece

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