Objective

Cardiothoracic surgery is a large field in Australia, and evidence suggests post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) hyperlactataemia is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Low thiamine levels are a potentially common yet treatable cause of hyperlactataemia and may occur in the setting of exposure to CPB non-biological material. We hypothesized that cardiopulmonary bypass would result in decreased whole-blood thiamine levels, which may therefore result in increased whole-blood lactate levels in the post-operative period.

Methods

Adult patients undergoing non-emergent CPB were recruited in a single centre, prospective, analytic observational study at Townsville University Hospital, Australia. The primary outcome was a comparison of pre- and post-CPB thiamine diphosphate level, secondarily aiming to assess any relationship between lactate and thiamine levels. Prospective pre- and post-CPB blood samples were taken and analysed at a central reference laboratory.

Results

Data was available for analysis on 78 patients. There was a statistically significant increase in thiamine diphosphate level from pre-CPB: 1.36 nmol/g Hb, standard deviation (SD) 0.31, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.29–1.43, to post-CPB: 1.77 nmol/g Hb, SD 0.53, 95% CI 1.43–1.88, p value < 0.001. There was a non-statistically significant (p > 0.05) trend in rising whole-blood lactate levels with increasing time. Analysis of lactate levels at varying time periods found a significant difference between baseline measurements and increased levels at 13–16 h (p < 0.05). There was no significant relationship observed between whole-blood thiamine levels and post-operative lactate levels.

Conclusion

Whole-blood thiamine levels were found to increase immediately post-CPB in those undergoing elective cardiac surgery. There was no correlation between whole-blood thiamine levels and post-operative arterial lactate levels.