title: Eelvated postoperative renal clearance of amylase without pancreatitis after cardiopulmonary bypass.
abstract: Two postoperative cardiopulmonary bypass patients who had pancreatitis within a two week period provided the impetus for pursuing this study. Amylase-creatinine clearance ratios (ACCR) were measured in a series of ten thoracic surgery patients: six coronary artery bypass patients with cardiopulmonary bypass (cardiac group), and four exploratory thoracotomy patients (pulmonary group). These ratios were obtained in the preoperative, recovery room, and postoperative periods. Comparisons were made among the following data: clinical history, pre- and postoperative medications, intraoperative vital signs, drugs, and anesthetics. The preoperative mean ACCR was 3.34 per cent. All cardiac patients had a significantly elevated ACCR in the recovery room with a mean of 17.36 per cent (p less than 0.05). The ACCR had returned to preoperative levels by the second postoperative day in five of six cases. There were no elevated ACCR levels in the pulmonary group. All patients were asymptomatic for pancreatitis. The intraoperative course of the cardiac patients involved four common factors, besides cardiopulmonary bypass, which were not present in the pulmonary group. These similarities included transfusion of citrated fresh whole blood activated by calcium chloride, hypotension treated with ephedrine, administration of mannitol, and intraoperative morphine analgesia. The mechanisms of increased amylase secretion by calcium chloride or ephedrine administration and transient sphincter of Oddi constriction by morphine or the alpha-adrenergic response of ephedrine are considered with the theoretical implications toward pancreatitis. The background and significance of the ACCR are also analyzed, especially in association with the osmotic diuresis of mannitol and a subsequent low urine creatinine level.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000681:Amylases / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000652:urine*; D011183:Postoperative Complications
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine; D000681:Amylases