Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with an injury that may cause pa
thophysiological changes such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome, m
ultiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and mediator-induced multiorgan failure
. Systemic endotoxinaemia, release of proinflammatory cytokines. and intera
ctions between neutrophils and endothelium have been reported to correlate
with a high incidence of organ dysfunction. infection and sepsis following
cardiac surgery. This review discusses the dysregulation of the immune resp
onse as a major reason for the higher susceptibility to infections followin
g cardiac surgery, various treatment strategies to reduce CPB-induced infla
mmation, and especially the prophylactic use of immunoglobulins in cardiac
surgery.