Chronic H2 receptor antagonist treatment and pulmonary complications post cardiac surgery

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.