Bivalirudin for cardiopulmonary bypass in a patient with heparin allergy.

BACKGROUND: Hypersensitivity reactions to heparin are uncommon conditions but pose a serious clinical problem for patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. Bivalirudin is a reversible direct thrombin inhibitor that can be used instead of heparin. CASE REPORT: A 49-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital for coronary artery bypass graft operation with mitral insufficiency and tricuspid valve insufficiency. Heparin allergy was confirmed by skin biopsy and skin tests. Due to this allergy, we used bivalirudin (Bivacard VEM drug, Turkey) during the surgery. A loading dose of 1.0 mg/kg (100 mg) bivalirudin was administered through the central line and a continuous infusion of 2.5 mg/kg/h of the anticoagulant was initiated following the approved protocol. Serial ACTs were obtained at 15-minute intervals during the procedure and the measurements were 330s, 320s, 350s, 360s, and 340s consecutively. Additional boluses of 0.5 mg/kg (50 mg) were administered for each measurement. Left anterior descending, obtuse marginal arteries and the right coronary artery were grafted with the left internal mammary and saphenous veins. Also, mitral valve replacement with St Jude mechanical heart valve and tricuspid ring annuloplasty was performed with Medtronic Duran ring. After the surgery, the patient had an uneventful period in the postoperative intensive care unit with a total of 600ml and 300ml chest tube drainage for two days and was discharged on the 7th day. CONCLUSION: Alternative anticoagulation strategies are needed for cardiopulmonary bypass in patients unable to use heparin. Bivalirudin may be recommended as a viable alternative anticoagulant in patients with heparin allergy during cardiopulmonary bypass. However, each patient should be evaluated individually and it should not be forgotten that more than recommended doses may be needed.

Correlative Cellular Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Amperometry Show Dose Dependent Changes in Lipid Composition and Exocytosis.

Aberrant functioning of the proteasome has been associated with crucial pathologic conditions including neurodegeneration. Yet, the complex underlying causes at the cellular level remain unclear and there are conflicting reports of neuroprotective to neurodegenerative effects of proteasomal inhibitors such as lactacystin that are utilised as models for neurodegenerative diseases. The conflicting results may be associated with different dose regimes of lactacystin and hence we have performed a dose dependent study of the effects of lactacystin to identify concurrent changes in the cell membrane lipid profile and the dynamics of exocytosis using a combination of surface sensitive mass spectrometry and single cell amperometry. Significant changes of negatively charged lipids were associated with different lactacystin doses that showed a weak correlation with exocytosis while changes in PE and PE-O lipids showed dose dependent changes correlated with initial pore formation and total release of vesicle content respectively.

CoronaVac, BNT162b2 and heterologous COVID-19 vaccine outcomes in patients with ventricular assist device.

BACKGROUND: A consensus has not yet been reached regarding which COVID-19 vaccine program should be applied in patients with ventricular assist device (VAD). Our aim was to assess the clinical outcome of inactivated, mRNA and heterologous vaccine program in patient with VAD. METHODS: In this retrospective and cross-sectional study; adult patients who underwent VAD implantation between January 2012 and September 2021 and received any vaccine that were used in Republic of Türkiye for COVID-19, were included. The patients were divided into three groups according to the type of vaccine; "inactivated," "mRNA" and "heterologous." Clinical outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were in each group in the "inactivated," "mRNA" and "heterologous" groups. Mean age was 51.6 ± 12 years in "inactivated" group, 42.5 ± 15.5 years in "mRNA" group and 41.1 ± 15.4 years in "heterologous" group. There was no significant difference between the groups in age, gender, body surface area, body mass index and etiology (p > 0.05). After last dose of vaccines, the number of patients had COVID-19 positive test were three (16.7%), one (5.6%), and two (11.1%) in "inactivated," "mRNA" and "heterologous" groups, respectively. Pump thrombosis was seen in two patients in "mRNA" group and one patient in "heterologous" group. No pump thrombosis was seen in "inactivated" group. COVID-19-related death or intubation was not observed. CONCLUSION: All vaccine that used for COVID-19 are safe and effective in patients with VAD. In countries that give priority to inactivated vaccines, mRNA vaccines may then be made as boosters.

An Overview of Advances in the Chromatography of Drugs Impurity Profiling.

A systematic literature survey published in several journals of pharmaceutical chemistry and of chromatography used to analyze impurities for most of the drugs that have been reviewed. This article covers the period from 2016 to 2020, in which almost of chromatographic techniques have been used for drug impurity analysis. These chromatography techniques are important in the analysis and description of drug impurities. Moreover, some recent developments in forced impurity profiling have been discussed, such as buffer solutions, mobile phase, columns, elution modes, and detectors are highlighted in drugs used for the study. This primarily focuses on thorough updating of different analytical methods which include hyphenated techniques for detecting and quantifying impurity and degradation levels in various pharmaceutical matrices.

David's procedure for pulmonary artery aneurysm.

Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) is a rare entity with fatal complications. Its silent course contributes to large aneurysms with compression symptoms. We present a 39-year-old female idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patient with a giant PAA causing severe pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and symptomatic left main coronary artery compression (LMCA). Since she had a failed LMCA stenting attempt, she underwent surgery. A valve-sparing David-like pulmonary trunk reconstruction and coronary artery bypass were performed. This case illustrates that David-like reconstruction procedure can be applied to the PAA with severe PR.

Application of LC-ESI-MS/MS Method for Analysis of Escitalopram Oxalate in Human Urine and Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms.

An effective and sensitive liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization tandem mass-spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of escitalopram oxalate (ESC-OX), antidepressant drug in spiked human urine and pharmaceutical formulations. In this work, simple liquid-liquid extraction was optimized and used for extraction of cited drug from urine samples. The chromatographic separation was attained within 6 min including re-equilibration time by using gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water as mobile phase, Zorbax Eclipse RP C18 (50 × 2.1 mm) column was used with a particle size of 1.8 µm; the flow-rate was 0.35 mL min-1. Ion signal m/z 262.0 and 109.0 for ESC-OX product ions were monitored at positive ESI mode. Validation of the method was carried out according to the ICH Q2 (R1) guidelines and EMEA criteria. The method was linear over 79-196,450 pg mL-1 with a regression of 0.9999 and 0.9993 for both standard and urine samples. The LOD was 3.88 and 10.66 pg mL-1 for standard and urine samples, respectively, while lower limit of quantification was 79 pg mL-1.

Determination of Ochratoxin-A in the brain microdialysates and plasma of awake, freely moving rats using ultra high performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection method.

In this study, a simple, efficient and rapid Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography method with fluorescence detection (UHPLC-FLD) has been developed and validated for the determination of Ochratoxin-A (OTA) in rat brain microdialysates and plasma samples. Six adult male wistar rats were used in the study and a single dose (5 mg/kg b.w.) of OTA was given by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection. Rat blood and microdialysate samples were collected simultaneously after i.p. injection in awake freely moving rats, over a twelve-hour period. An UHPLC analysis was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C8 (150 mm × 3.0 mm ID × 1.8 µm particles) column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile:water:phosphoric acid (50:50:0.1, v/v) using a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The fluorescence detector was set at 330 nm excitation and 460 nm emission wavelengths. Diflunisal (DIF) was used as an internal standard (IS). OTA and IS were separated within 5 min under these conditions. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and stability. Calibration curves obtained with spiked biological matrices show good linearity with high correlation coefficients. The intra- and inter-day assay variability was <5% for the OTA. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification values were found to be 0.490 ng/mL and 1.48 ng/mL for plasma; 0.0900 ng/mL and 0.270 ng/mL for microdialysate samples, respectively. This method was successfully applied for the monitoring of OTA levels in the rat brain and plasma samples.

Surgical treatment of hydatid cyst infiltrating into myocardium and causing mitral valve regurgitation.

Hydatid cyst is a parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus. It is endemic in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean region including Turkey. Cardiac involvement is rare. Surgery is the definitive treatment of cardiac hydatid cysts; however, to avoid recurrence after surgery, medical therapy should be also continued. Left ventricular free wall is the most common location, followed by the right ventricle and interventricular septum. Involvement of mitral valve is extremely rare. Herein, we present a case of hydatid cyst with myocardial involvement leading to severe mitral valve regurgitation which was successfully treated with surgery.

A sensitive capillary LC-UV method for the simultaneous analysis of olanzapine, chlorpromazine and their FMO-mediated N-oxidation products in brain microdialysates.

A specific and sensitive capillary liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (cap-LC-UV) method in combination with a micro-extraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) sample clean-up procedure has been developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of chlorpromazine, olanzapine and their flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) mediated N-oxides in rat brain microdialysates. Chromatographic separation was obtained on an Acclaim Pepmap RP C18 column with an ID of 300µm. An injection volume of 20µL was used to inject the largely aqueous samples and was shown to have no influence on the obtained peak shape of the compounds of interest. Optimal conditions for MEPS extraction were obtained on a mixed-mode M1 (80% C8, 20% SCX) cartridge after diluting microdialysate samples with phosphate buffer pH 2.5 (1:3 v/v). The method was validated and lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) were determined at 0.5nM for all compounds. Linearity was demonstrated between the LLOQ and 1µM for all compounds (R2>0.995). MEPS recoveries were between 92% and 98%, with intra- and interday variabilities below 15%. The applicability of the developed method was successfully demonstrated by analysing rat brain microdialysates. The capillary LC-UV method in combination with MEPS sample treatment provides a simple, sensitive method to quantify all compounds of interest in 45min and can be applied for routine therapeutic monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies of olanzapine, chlorpromazine and their respective N-oxides.

Predictability and Outcome of Vascular Complications after Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

BACKGROUND: Although the efficacy and safety of transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have been improved with new devices, careful patient selection is essential and awkward complications associated with the procedure persist. Despite a gradual reduction in the delivery system size and the development of access site arterial closure devices, vascular complications remain one of the main challenges of TAVI. The aim of this single-center study was to prospectively evaluate the incidence and predictors of vascular complications in transfemoral TAVI. METHODS: A total of 211 patients (mean age 77.98 ± 8.20 years) who underwent transfemoral TAVI between 2011 and 2014 at the authors' institution, using two different commercially available devices, was included in the study. Technical success, vascular complications, predictors of vascular complications and mortality were each assessed. Vascular complications were defined by the current Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) criteria. RESULTS: The mean logistic EuroSCORE of the patients was 21.04 ± 7.51. An Edwards SAPIEN XT valve was used in 69.7% of cases, and a Medtronic CoreValve in 30.3%. Completely percutaneous transfemoral TAVI was successful in 81.6% of patients. Procedural and 30-day mortalities were 1.4% and 8.5%, respectively. Vascular complications occurred in 16.1% of patients (minor 10.4%, major 5.7%), and necessitated surgical repair in 25 cases (11.8%). Major vascular complications were predictive of 30-day mortality (58.3% versus 5.6% (p = 0.000). Predicted major vascular complications (by multivariate analysis) were female gender (hazard ratio (HR) 5.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91-32.5, p = 0.063), arterial calcification (HR 2,88; 95% CI 1.14-7.30, p = 0.025) and sheath to iliofemoral artery ratio (SIFAR) (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.27-2.87, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although vascular preclosure devices have revolutionized transfemoral TAVI, and offer a simple but effective percutaneous procedure, vascular complications are still observed in a considerable number of patients. The major vascular complications were predictive of 30-day mortality, and included female gender, iliofemoral calcification and SIFAR. Further technological and procedural developments are required to reduce vascular complication rates and related mortality.

Humoral immune response and coated or uncoated oxygenators during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

AIM: To investigate and compare uncoated and phosphorylcholine-coated oxygenators in terms of induction of humoral immune response during coronary artery bypass surgery. METHODS: A total of 20 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery were randomly distributed into two groups according to the type of oxygenator used during surgery. Group 1 consisted of 10 patients who were operated on using phosphorylcholine-coated oxygenators. Group 2 contained 10 patients who underwent surgery using uncoated oxygenators. Blood and oxygenator fibre samples were obtained and compared in terms of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM), complements (C3c, C4), serum total protein and albumin levels using electron microscopy and flow cytometry. RESULTS: In group 1, levels of IgM, IgG, total protein and serum albumin were significantly increased at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) compared to those at the beginning of CPB. In group 2, C3c and C4 levels at the beginning of CPB were found to be significantly higher than at the end. Electron microscopic examination of oxygenator fibres demonstrated that phosphorylcholine-coated fibres were less likely to be adsorbed by serum proteins and complements than the uncoated fibres. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that phosphorylcholine-coated oxygenators seemed to induce humoral immune response to a lesser extent than uncoated oxygenators during coronary artery bypass procedures.

Modulation of Corpus Striatal Neurochemistry by Astrocytes and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) in Parkinsonian Rats.

The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is widely used in animal models of Parkinson's disease. In various neurodegenerative diseases, astrocytes play direct, active, and critical roles in mediating neuronal survival and functions. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has neurotrophic actions and modulates a number of astrocytic activities. In this study, the effects of VIP on the striatal neurochemistry were investigated in parkinsonian rats. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham-operated, unilaterally 6-OHDA-lesioned, and lesioned + VIP-administered (25 ng/kg i.p.) groups. VIP was first injected 1 h after the intrastriatal 6-OHDA microinjection and then every 2 days throughout 15 days. Extracellular striatal concentration of glutathione (GSH), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate (GLU), and lactate were measured in microdialysates by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Quantification of GABA and activity dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP)-expressing cells were determined by glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)/ADNP + glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) double immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrated that a 6-OHDA lesion significantly increased the density of astrocytes in the striatum and VIP treatment slightly reduced the gliosis. Extracellular concentration of GABA, GLU, and lactate levels did not change, but GSH level significantly increased in the striatum of parkinsonian rats. VIP treatment reduced GSH level comparable to sham-operated groups, but enhanced GABA and GLU levels. Our double labeling results showed that VIP primarily acts on neurons to increase ADNP and GAD expression for protection. These results suggest that, in the 6-OHDA-induced neurodegeneration model, astrocytes were possibly activated for forefront defensiveness by modulating striatal neurochemistry.

Treatment of acute thoracic aortic syndromes using endovascular techniques.

PURPOSE: Acute thoracic aortic syndrome (ATAS) is a novel term to define emergency aortic conditions with common clinical features and challenges. Traditional management of ATAS includes surgical replacement of the aorta and is correlated with high perioperative mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate our experience and outcomes in patients presenting with ATAS, managed by endovascular techniques. METHODS: This cohort consisted of 31 consecutive patients (24 males; mean age, 57.5±13.81 years; range, 19-84 years) with acute thoracic aortic pathologies who underwent endovascular repair between January 2011 and January 2015. The study was designed as a retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data. RESULTS: Complicated acute type-B aortic dissection was the most common pathology (35.5%). All aortic stent-grafts (n=37) and dissection stents (n=9) were implanted with 100% procedural success. The overall in-hospital mortality was 9.7%. The mean follow-up duration of patients who were alive at 30 days was 25.9±11.49 months (3-53 months). So far, there have been no late deaths after 30 days. CONCLUSION: In the high-risk setting of ATAS, endovascular procedures come forward as novel therapeutic strategies with promising results. Endovascular repair of ATAS can be considered as a first-line treatment alternative under emergency conditions with encouraging results, particularly when conventional surgical repair cannot be implemented due to prohibitive comorbidities.

Endovascular treatment for acute traumatic thoracic aortic transection.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to present our experience in patients with acute traumatic thoracic aortic transection treated by endovascular stent-graft. METHODS: From October 2011 to October 2014, eleven patients were brought to our hospitals after suffering motor vehicle accident or fall from height. Computed tomography revealed acute traumatic transection of the thoracic aorta at the aortic isthmus just distal to the left subclavian artery in nine patients, at the middle or distal thoracic aorta in two, and both aortic isthmus and middle thoracic aorta in one. Endovascular technique was preferred as the treatment modality. All patients, except one, were treated within twelve hours of diagnosis. RESULTS: Deployment of stent-grafts was successful in all cases. The stent-grafts were oversized between 10% and 20%. The origin of left subclavian artery was covered with stent-graft in six patients to achieve adequate proximal landing zone. In two of them, carotico-subclavian bypass and periscope graft placement were applied to maintain subclavian artery blood flow. There were no procedure related deaths, paraplegia or ischemic complications. A patient with cardiac arrest, on whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transient aortic balloon occlusion within the aorta were applied in the angiography suit died at the postoperative twelve hours. Mean hospital stay after procedures was 14.8 days (range, 4-60 days). Mean follow-up time of ten patients was 16.6 months (range, 1-36 months). CONCLUSION: Our study supports that thoracic endovascular aortic stenting for acute transection is promising in terms of short- and mid-term results similar to other studies in the literature.

Ciprofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity: evaluation of possible underlying mechanisms.

Ciprofloxacin (CPX) is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used for treating respiratory, urinary tract, gastrointestinal and abdominal infections. There are only a limited number of studies related to neurological adverse effects of this drug in therapeutic doses. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the influence of CPX, when administered at pharmacological doses, on behavioral parameters of rats and the probable underlying mechanisms. CPX was administered in single oral daily doses of 20 and 50 mg/kg for 14 days in rats. CPX-induced depression and anxiety were evaluated by modified forced swimming test and elevated plus maze test, respectively. Also, spontaneous locomotor activity and motor coordination were assessed by activity cage and Rota-rod apparatus. Effects of CPX administration on brain serotonin, dopamine, γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA), glutamate, adrenaline and noradrenaline levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Contribution of oxidative stress to the changes induced by CPX administration was evaluated by measuring brain catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Our results indicated that depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors were observed only in the 50 mg/kg CPX-administered group with simultaneous decreases in the brain serotonin and GABA levels. In addition, in the brain homogenates of CPX-administered groups, increased MDA as well as decreased GSH and catalase activity with respect to their controls, indicated enhanced oxidative stress and weakened antioxidant defense system. In conclusion, repeated pharmacological doses of CPX were found to induce neurological toxicity. Also, altered brain neurotransmitter levels and increased oxidative stress observed in our study were thought to be the possible underlying mechanisms of ciprofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity.

Evaluation of the antithrombotic effects of Crataegus monogyna and Crataegus davisii in the carrageenan-induced tail thrombosis model.

CONTEXT: Crataegus species are widely used as herbal medicines for preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, there are no studies on the effects of Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (Rosaceae) and C. davisii Browicz on thrombosis, which is an important mechanism in CVDs. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the antithrombotic effects of ethanol extracts of Crataegus monogyna (CMEx) and C. davisii (CDEx) leaves by using the carrageenan-induced tail thrombosis model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hind paw of each mouse was injected with 1% Type I carrageenan to induce thrombosis. CMEx was tested at the doses of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg and CDEx at the dose of 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg in comparison with heparin. The lengths of tail thrombosis were measured at the 24, 48, and 72 h. RESULTS: Does of 200 and 300 mg/kg CMEx showed significant effects (p < 0.01; p < 0.001) at 24 h when compared with the control group. The antithrombotic activity of 200 and 300 mg/kg CMEx showed a decrease at 48 and 72 h but the activity of 300 mg/kg dose of CMEx was still significant (p < 0.01). The activities of 50 and 100 mg/kg doses of CDEx were significant (p < 0.001; p < 0.01) between 24 and 72 h whereas 200 and 300 mg/kg CDEx did not show any significance. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: CMEx and CDEx significantly inhibited the carrageenan-induced mouse tail thrombosis. Based on these results, it was concluded that CDEx and CMEx may potentially be used as therapeutic agents or complementary treatments against thrombosis.

Patient-prosthesis mismatch increases the mean platelet volume in patients with aortic valve replacement.

PURPOSE: Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) is defined when the ratio of the effective orifice area of the normally functioning prosthetic valve to the body surface area of the patient is <0.85 cm(2)/m(2). The aim of this study was to assess the measurements of the mean platelet volume (MPV) as an indicator of platelet activation in patients with PPM. METHODS: A total of 109 patients with isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) procedures with a mechanical prosthesis and a control group from a normal population of 102 people compatible in terms of age and sex were chosen for the study. The AVR group was subdivided into a PPM group (n = 41) and non-PPM group (n = 68). All patients and control participants underwent echocardiographic examinations, with simultaneous measurements of the serum MPV values. RESULTS: The MPV measurements were significantly higher in the patients with AVR compared to the control group (8.97 ± 0.93 vs. 8.26 ± 0.14, p < 0.001). Higher results were also obtained in the patients with PPM compared to the non-PPM group (9.36 ± 0.61 vs. 8.73 ± 1.01, p < 0.001). The platelet counts were found to be similar in both groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We have herein shown that the PPM patients had a significantly higher MPV compared to the patients with AVR without PPM and healthy subjects.

Ruptured sinus of valsalva aneurysm and coarctation of aorta in a woman at early postpartum period.

Coarctation of aorta and sinus of Valsalva aneurysm are frequently missed congenital cardiac defects that their diagnosis might be delayed. To our knowledge, coincidence of these cardiac defects is unusual and has not been reported in the literature before. Here, we present a patient with coarctation of aorta and ruptured noncoronary sinus of Valsalva aneurysm leading to aorto-right atrial fistula in the early postpartum period and our management of this unusual case.

Single-centre experience with perioperative use of intraaortic balloon pump in cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) is frequently used in cardiac surgery in order to prevent or treat low cardiac output syndrome. Although being widely used and forming the first line therapy in these haemodynamically unstable patients despite maximal medication, optimal timing for IABP insertion is still discussed. This retrospective study evaluates hospital outcomes of patients receiving IABP at preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative periods during cardiac surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2006 and 2012, 2196 patients underwent open cardiac surgery in our centre. IABP was used in 121 (5.4%) patients. Nine patients had preoperative IABP insertion, 76 patients (62.8%) had intraoperative insertion to ease weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass, and 36 patients (29.8%) had postoperative insertion in the intensive care unit mainly due to refractory haemodynamic instability. Hospital outcomes of these 121 patients were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: The majority of the patients were male (men 89, 73.6% and women 32, 26.4%; mean age was 65.9±11.5 years). Among the cohort 87 (71.9%) underwent isolated coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and the rest (34 patients, 28.1%) were operated for valve disease with/without CABG or for CABG with carotid endarterectomy, left ventricular aneurysm repair, post myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect or pathologies involving ascending aorta. The overall hospital mortality of the whole cohort was 27.3%. Mortality rates according to IABP timing were 33.3%, 19.7% and 41.7% for pre, intra and postoperative insertion, respectively. Logistic regression analysis identified female gender, low ejection fraction (<30%), complex surgery and postoperative insertion as risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSION: IABP insertion timing in cardiac surgery is crucial and many reports advocate early insertion since patient outcomes are poor for late insertions. This single centre study also confirms that the least favourable results are among patients with postoperative IABP insertion.