Impact of Early Postoperative Hydrocortisone Administration in Cardiac Surgical Patients After Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Background: The usefulness of glucocorticoids after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass has been a matter of debate for many years. Exposure to cardiopulmonary bypass evokes the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Intravenous glucocorticoids have been used to reduce proinflammatory cytokine release, slow leukocyte migration, and decrease capillary leak associated with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: To assess the impact of early postoperative hydrocortisone administration on duration of vasoactive medication administration and the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgical patients after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study (between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2008) was conducted at a large, university-affiliated, tertiary-care medical center. One-hundred forty-seven patients who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, 72 of whom received at least 1 dose of hydrocortisone (treatment), and 75 similar patients who did not receive hydrocortisone (control), were randomly selected. RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times were similar between treatment and control groups (128 vs 124 minutes, p = 0.56; 103 vs 98 minutes, p = 0.39). Patients who received hydrocortisone had a significantly shorter time to discontinuation of all vasoactive medications (79.6 vs 21.1 hours, p < 0.001), and less postoperative atrial fibrillation (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.56, p < 0.001). Patients in the treatment group experienced significantly more hyperglycemia (89 vs 71%, p = 0.006); however, major and minor bleeding or infection rates did not differ significantly between groups.

Conclusions: Patients treated with hydrocortisone after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass experienced a significantly shorter time to discontinuation of all vasoactive medications and less postoperative atrial fibrillation than patients not treated with hydrocortisone. These benefits came at the expense of significantly more hyperglycemia.