Effect of levocarnitine on serum cytokines and cardiac troponin I in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting under extracorporeal circulation

Objective To investigate the effect of intravenous drip of levocarnitine during perioperative period on serum cytokines and cardiac troponin (cTn) I in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) under extracorporeal circulation. Methods The clinical data of 70 patients who had underwent CABG under extracorporeal circulation in Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi′an Jiaotong University from January 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 35 cases were treated with intravenous infusion of levocarnitine (experiment group), and 35 cases were not treated with intravenous infusion of levocarnitine(control group). The serum levels of cTnI, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-10 1 h before operation and 2, 6, 24, 72 h after aorta open were detected; the postoperative recovery and complication were recorded. Results There were no statistical differences in TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and cTnI before operation between 2 groups (P>0.05); the indexes 2, 6, 24 and 72 h after aorta open were significantly higher than those before operation, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05). The TNF-α, IL-6 and cTnI 2, 6, 24 and 72 h after aorta open in experiment group were significantly lower than those in control group, and the IL-10 was significantly higher than that in control group; the IL-8 2, 6 and 24 h after aorta open in experiment group were significantly lower than that in control group, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05). The ICU monitoring time, electrocardio-monitoring time, duration of antibiotic treatment, duration of drainage tube, mechanical ventilation time and length of hospital stay in experiment group were significantly shorter than those in control group: (2.9 ± 0.5) d vs. (3.5 ± 0.8) d, (5.7 ± 1.8) d vs. (7.6 ± 3.2) d, (6.7 ± 1.5) d vs. (9.8 ± 2.2) d, (3.1 ± 0.8) d vs. (3.9 ± 1.4) d, (3.3 ± 2.1) d vs. (5.1 ± 2.3) d and (8.1 ± 2.2) d vs. (12.8 ± 2.6) d, and there were statistical differences (P<0.01). Moreover, there were no severe perioperative complications such as myocardial infarction and pulmonary infection in 2 groups. Conclusions Intravenous drip of levocarnitine during perioperative period could effectively control postoperative inflammatory response and myocardial injury in patients undergoing CABG under extracorporeal circulation. The effect of levocarnitine may be related to its ability to balance the levels between proinflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Key words: Coronary artery bypass; Extracorporeal circulation; Cytokines; Troponin I; Levocarnitine