The effects of haemofiltration on cefazolin levels during cardiopulmonary bypass

Abstract

Ultrafiltration has been shown to affect cardiac drug concentrations during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), based on their respective pharmacological properties. In an attempt to understand the aetiology of sternal wound infections, a study was performed to eliminate the use of ultrafiltration as a possible cause. We compared cefazolin levels at three time intervals during the course of routine CPB with ultrafiltration to those levels in a control group in which ultrafiltration was not used. Our results indicate that there is little difference in the rate of decay of antibiotic levels with or without the use of a haemoconcentrator. This implies that ultrafiltration procedures do not put the patient at any increased risk for infection and that additional measures beyond that which we would normally use at our institution need not be taken.