Perioperative cytokine release during coronary artery bypass grafting in patients of different ages.

Surgical interventions and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induce a systemic inflammatory response with cytokine release. Ageing is perceived as a process of impaired immune functions: IL-1beta, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) secretion are increased while IL-2 release is reduced in advanced age. At present, little information is available about perioperative immune reactions at different stages of ageing. The aim of the present study was to compare IL-6, IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, IL-10 and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in younger and older patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Male patients (n = 14) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery employing CPB with moderate hypothermia were divided into two groups according to their age: group 1 included seven patients < 50 years old, group 2 included seven patients > 65 years old. All patients received general anaesthesia using a balanced technique with sufentanil, isoflurane and midazolam. Blood samples were collected pre-operatively (T1); intra-operatively during CPB (T2); post-operatively on the day of surgery (T3); on the first post-operative day (T4). Blood concentrations of IL-6, IL-1beta, IL-10, TNF-alpha and sIL-2R were measured using commercially available ELISA kits and corrected for plasma cell volume. Statistical analysis was performed by non-parametric analysis of variance and Mann-Whitney U-test. Significance level was set to P<0.05. There were no statistically significant differences in the perioperative release of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta, IL-10 and sIL-2R among the two groups. We conclude that the perioperative course of cytokine release in patients undergoing CABG surgery with CPB and comparable perioperative management does not significantly differ in the two age groups.