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Chemical Explains Problems After External Circulation

MONDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Cyclohexanone, a compound used to make intravenous bags and extracorporeal circulation equipment, can leach into the contained fluids and cause cardiovascular morbidities similar to those observed after extracorporeal circulation, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.

Caitlin S. Thompson-Torgerson, Ph.D., and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, examined whether the unique morbidities observed after extracorporeal circulation (edema formation, cardiac insufficiency, autonomic dysfunction, and altered vasomotor function) could be explained by the solvent cyclohexanone, which is used in the production of extracorporeal circuits and intravenous bags, leaching into the fluids.

The researchers found that cyclohexanone was present in fluid samples from circuits and intravenous bags at levels ranging from 9.63 to 3,694 micrograms per liter. Rats treated with cyclohexanone developed edema and impaired cardiovascular function, including impaired baroflex function; systemic hypotension; pulmonary hypertension; depressed contractility, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output; and increased vascular resistance.

"Cyclohexanone can reproduce clinical cardiovascular, neurological, and edema morbidities associated with extracorporeal circulatory treatment," Thompson-Torgerson and colleagues conclude.

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