title: Influence of intravenous calcium gluconate on saphenous vein graft flow in closed-chest patients.
abstract: The effects of calcium gluconate on hemodynamics and saphenous vein graft flow in a group of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting who developed ionized hypocalcemia at the end of the surgical procedure were examined. The patients received a central venous bolus of 15 mg/kg of calcium gluconate. Heart rate (HR), arterial pressure (AP), central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), and cardiac output were measured immediately before and 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 seconds after injection of calcium gluconate. Systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance (SVR and PVR, respectively), cardiac index (CI), stroke volume index (SVI), and right and left ventricular stroke work index (RVSWI and LVSWI, respectively), were calculated. Venous bypass flow velocity (Vbypass-flow) was assessed using a Doppler probe that was attached to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) bypass intraoperatively. Calcium gluconate significantly increased MAP, SVR, and LVSWI from 67 +/- 3 mmHg (mean +/- SEM), 1,128 +/- 128 dyne.s.cm-5 and 25 +/- 3 g.m.beat/m to a maximum of 81 +/- 5 mmHg (P < 0.01), 1,401 +/- 196 dyne.s.cm-5 (P < 0.05), and 32 +/- 4 g.m/beat/m (P < 0.01), respectively. HR, CVP, PAP, PCWP, PVR, CI, SVI, and Vbypass-flow remained unaltered. It is concluded that calcium gluconate administered to moderately hypocalcemic patients increases arterial pressure mainly by peripheral vasoconstriction. Because the increase of arterial pressure, and, thereby, coronary perfusion pressure is not associated with an increase of LAD bypass flow, vasoconstriction in the coronary vascular bed distal to the venous graft cannot be ruled out, and deterioration of the myocardial oxygen supply/demand ratio is strongly suggested.
authors: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Germany.
authors: A W
authors: AW
authors: Goertz
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Lass
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Schütz
authors: U
authors: U
authors: Schirmer
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Beyer
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Georgieff
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002125:Calcium Gluconate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000187:drug effects; D002496:Central Venous Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006996:Hypocalcemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008875:Middle Aged; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000187:drug effects; D011651:Pulmonary Artery; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000187:drug effects; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002125:Calcium Gluconate