Gaseous microemboli in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: the use of veno-arterial shunt as a preventive method.

Neurological complications are an important cause of morbidity in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery and its incidence reaches up to 75% of patients. An important cause of these events is the formation of microbubbles in the bloodstream during cardiopulmonary bypass. Integrative review was carried out on gaseous microemboli in cardiopulmonary bypass. This study analyzed studies with different methodological approaches, but that address the issue. The result suggests the denitrogenation of blood by hyperoxia dissolved microbubbles in the blood and venoarterial shunt can balance the respiratory parameters changed with hyperoxia.