ABSTRACT
Changes in blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MFV) were investigated by transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) in 24 patients undergoing aortocoronary bypass grafting before, during, and after extracorporeal circulation (ECC). Simultaneously, mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), PaCO2, PaO2, and hematocrit were recorded. During ECC, an increase in MFV could be observed that was most pronounced during the early bypass stages. After ECC, MFV decreased slightly but was significantly higher than before ECC. No linear relationship between MFV and MABP could be registered except for the early bypass stage. Neither duration of ECC nor aortic clamping time showed any correlation with MFV augmentation. Mean PaCO2 was held constant (36 mmHg) with PaO2 being at least 120 mmHg. After removal of the aortic clamp, high-frequency Doppler signals probably caused by air or fragment embolization were detected in some patients. Our data support previous observations of increased cerebral blood flow during nonpulsatile ECC. During short episodes of low-pressure perfusion after initiation of ECC, cerebral autoregulation seemed impaired. However, our results do not support the concept of complete loss of autoregulation during ECC. Compared to the xenon technique of measuring cerebral blood flow, TCD allows noninvasive and continuous evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics, thus offering new possibilities of monitoring cerebral blood supply intraoperatively.