Objective: To examine the effects of chronic H2 receptor antagonist treatme
nt and pulmonary complications, length of stay in intensive care (ITU), hig
h dependency (HDU), and stay in hospital in patients who undergo pulsatile
cardiopulmonary bypass.
Design: An analysis from a prospective database of patients undergoing card
iac surgery with pulsatile perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass.
Setting: Hammersmith Hospital, regional cardiothoracic surgical centre.
Subjects: 2,642 patients who had undergone cardiac surgery involving pulsat
ile perfusion. Of these, 255 were on H2 receptor antagonist treatment.
Main outcome: Time to extubation, re-intubation rate, incidence of pulmonar
y oedema, measures incidence of lobar collapse and consolidation, incidence
of antibiotic treatment for pulmonary infection, length of ITU, HDU and to
tal hospital stay.
Results: 75.8% of patients on H2 receptor antagonists compared with 74.5% o
f control patients had no respiratory complications after cardiac surgery (
P > 0.5). There was no significant difference between collapse and consolid
ation (P > 0.5), collapse and consolidation requiring antibiotics (P > 0.5)
, re-intubation (P > 0.5), pulmonary oedema (P > 0.5), time to extubation (
P > 0.5), length of ITU stay (P > 0.5), length of HDU stay (P > 0.5), lengt
h of hospital stay (P > 0.5), and mortality (P > 0.5).
Conclusion: Chronic H2 receptor antagonist treatment has no effect on pulmo
nary complications after cardiac surgery.