Intra-abdominal complications of cardiopulmonary bypass operations

The records of 6,452 consecutive patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass procedures were examined for intra-abdominal complications. There were 60 complications in 51 patients for an incidence of 0.94 per cent. The mortality rate was 59 per cent. Complications included bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract in 20, intestinal ischemia in 16, acute cholecystitis in 11, pancreatitis in five, small intestinal obstruction in three, perforated ulcer in two, hepatic necrosis in two and splenic laceration in one instance. Clinical risk factors included advanced age, emergency operation, valvular surgical treatment, hypotension, intra-aortic balloon pump, pressors and reoperation. Patients with a prolonged pump time had an increased risk of intra-abdominal complications (p < 0.001).