Intralipid postconditioning in patients of Cardiac surgery undergoing cardioPulmonary Bypass (iCPB): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Intralipid is a necessary fatty acid carrier that has been safely used as an energy supplier in the clinic. It has played an important role in rescuing the cardiac arrest caused by local anesthetic toxicity. In recent years, experimental studies have shown that intralipid postconditioning (ILPC) could reduce myocardial ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injuries. Our research group has innovatively conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) and the results showed that ILPC could reduce the release of cTnT and CK-MB, biomarkers of myocardial I/R injury, in valve replacement surgery. However, the potential effects of ILPC on the clinical outcome of adult cardiac surgery patients are unclear. Intralipid postconditioning in patients of cardiac surgery undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (iCPB) trial is aimed to further study whether ILPC could improve short-term and long-term clinical outcome, as well as cardiac function in adult cardiac surgery patients. Methods The iCPB trial is an ongoing, single-center, prospective, double blinded, large sample RCT. In total, 1000 adults undergoing cardiac surgery will be randomly allocated to either ILPC group or the control group. Intervention group received an intravenous infusion of 2 mL/kg of 20% intralipid (medium-chain and long-chain fat emulsion injection C6~C24, Pharmaceutical) within 10 minutes before aortic cross-unclamping, and the control group received an equivalent volume of normal saline. The primary endpoints are complex morbidity of major complications during hospitalization, and all-cause mortality within 30 days after surgery. The secondary endpoints include: (1) all-cause mortality 6 months and 1 year postoperatively, (2) the quality of life within 1 year after surgery,using QoR-15 questionnaire, (3) the postoperative cardiac function evaluated by LVEF, LVEDs, LVEDD, and the myocardial injury evaluated by CK-MB, cTnT, BNP, (4) short-term clinical outcomes during hospitalization and total cost are also detailed evaluated. Discussion The iCPB trial is the first to explore ILPC on the clinical outcome of adult cardiac surgery patients. The results are expected to provide potential evidences about whether ILPC could reduce the morbidity and mortality, improve the cardiac function and quality of life. Therefore, provide a rationale for the evaluation of the potentially clinically relevant benefit of intralipid therapy.