Cold Agglutinins and Cardiac Surgey: a Case Report

Cold agglutinins (CA) are autoantibodies whose clinical significance depends upon titer and thermal amplitude. Patients, which undergo cardio-pulmonary bypass and especially hypothermic cardioplegia myocardial protection, represent a challenge regarding operative management, as tissue temperature should be maintained above the threshold of agglutination. We report on a case in which the presence of CA was discovered during elective aortic valve replacement surgery, and managed with normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and continuous retrograde warm blood cardioplegia administration.