THERMIC 3

Intermittent Antegrade Warm Blood versus Cold Blood Cardioplegia in Children Undergoing Open Heart Surgery: A Prospective, Multicentre, Randomised Controlled Trial (THERMIC-3)

Funder: British Heart Foundation

Sponsor: University Hospitals Bristol

Status: Recruiting

During heart surgery, we stop the heart and use a heart-lung bypass machine to pump blood around the body. To keep the heart still during surgery we use a solution called ‘cardioplegia’ that also contains substances to protect the heart. At the moment it is normal for a cold cardioplegia solution to be used ‘cold blood cardioplegia’. However, we now think that it could be better to use a warm cardioplegia solution ‘warm blood cardioplegia’ instead.

Research suggests that using a warm solution in heart surgery on adults is less harmful than using a cold one. However, little is known about the effects of using warm cardioplegia solutions in children. Therefore, the study will compare the two cardioplegia temperatures used (‘cold’ or ‘warm’ blood cardioplegia) and look at their effects on the heart and recovery after heart surgery for paediatric patients.

Publication 

Contact Information

Chief Investigator: Serban Stoica

E-mail:  thermic3-trial@bristol.ac.uk