ABSTRACT

It is known that the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during cardiac surgery leads to leukocyte activation and may, among other causes, induce organ dysfunction due to increased leukocyte recruitment into different organs. In our patients, pathophysiologically severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome, uncontrolled CPB-induced inflammation, chylomicrons and very low density lipoproteins or immune complexes have been shown to develop immune-dependent agglutination by C-reactive proteins in CPB, which could result in vascular occlusion and resultant infarction.