Cardiospecific sevoflurane treatment quenches inflammation but does not attenuate myocardial cell damage markers: A proof-of-concept study in patients undergoing mitral valve repair

Background Inflammation is considered a key mediator of complications after cardiac surgery. Sevoflurane has been shown to quench inflammation and to provide cardioprotection in preclinical studies. Clinical studies using sevoflurane confirm this effect on inflammation but do not consistently show clinical benefits. This paradox may indicate that the contribution of inflammation to postoperative sequalae is less than commonly thought or that systemic doses are too low in their local concentration. To test the latter, we evaluated the effects of intramyocardial sevoflurane delivery. Methods Selective myocardial sevoflurane delivery was performed during aortic cross-clamping in patients undergoing valve surgery (n=11). Results were compared with a control group not receiving sevoflurane (n=10). A reference group (n=5) was added to evaluate the effects of systemic sevoflurane delivery. Paired arterial and myocardial venous blood samples were collected at various time points post-reperfusion. Inflammatory mediators and myocardial cell damage were studied. Results Intramyocardial delivery was superior to systemic delivery in attenuation of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 (-44% and-25%, respectively; both P=0.001). Myocardial and systemic sevoflurane delivery effectively suppressed surgery-related inflammatory responses including postoperative C-reactive protein levels when compared with controls [63 (47-99) (P=0.01) and 58 (56-81) (P=0.04) compared with 107 (79-144) mg litre-1]. Sevoflurane treatment did not reduce postoperative troponin T, creatine kinase, and creatine kinase-MB values. Conclusions This proof-of-concept study suggests that intramyocardial delivery compared with the systemic delivery of sevoflurane more strongly attenuates the systemic inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass without reducing postoperative markers of myocardial cell damage. © 2014 The Author.