Del Nido Cardioplegia

Abstract

Cardiac surgery, one of the treatments for cardiovascular disease, is used to correct heart pathology. The surgery is divided into closed heart surgery and open heart surgery. The open heart surgery can be more coverage on correcting pathology and treating heart diseases, compared to the closed heart surgery. However, the open heart surgery involves the extracorporeal circuit through a heart-lung machine as a replacement of body heart and lung. In addition, a pharmaceutical solution known as cardioplegia is needed. This pharmaceutical solution mainly contains high concentration of potassium, aims to stop the heartbeat so that the surgeon can perform the surgery easier. Other components in cardioplegia are used to protect cardiac muscle during surgery, limit myocardial damage during cardiac arrest and lack of blood supply, return heart to normal function after the cardiac surgery, and reduce surgical complications. From past to present, the cardioplegia has been developed in many formulations with different components. The del Nido cardioplegia is one of them that has the advantage of stopping the heartbeat and protecting cardiac muscle throughout the duration of surgery and providing a good surgical outcome. Hospital pharmacists have role in compounding sterile solution such as del Nido cardioplegia that meets standard of practice. In Thailand, although some components in the original formulation are not available, but other substance can be substituted so that patients have opportunity to access medicines.