Academic Editors: Julio Núñez Villota and Teruo Inoue
Background: The combination of surgery, bacterial spread-out, and
artificial cardiopulmonary bypass surfaces results in a release of key
inflammatory mediators leading to an overshooting systemic hyper-inflammatory
condition frequently associated with compromised hemodynamics and organ
dysfunction. A promising approach could be extracorporeal blood purification
therapies in combination with IgM enriched immunoglobulin. This approach might
perform a balanced control of both hyper and hypo-inflammatory phases as an
immune-modulating intervention. Methods: We performed a retrospective
observational study of patients with proven infection after cardiac surgery
between January 2020 and December 2021. Patients were divided into two groups:
(1) the first group (Control Group) followed a standard care approach as
recommended by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines; The second group (Active
Group) underwent extracorporeal blood purification therapy (EBPT) in combination
with intravenous administration of IgM enriched immunoglobulin 5 mL/kg die for at
least three consecutive days, in conjunction with the standard approach (SSC
Guidelines). In addition, ventriculo-arterial (V/A) coupling, Interleukin 6
(IL-6), Endotoxin Activity Assay (EAA), Procalcitonin, White Blood Cells (WBC)
counts, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score and Inotropic Score were
assessed in both two groups at different time points. Results:
Fifty-four patients were recruited; 25 were in the Control Group, while
29 participants were in the Active Group. SOFA score significantly improved from
baseline [12 (9–16)] until at T