Low arginine plasma levels in patients after thoracoabdominal aortic surgery

Thoracoabdominal aortic surgery is a high-risk procedure and associated with a significant morbidity and mortality. Ischemia reperfusion of visceral organs and lower extremities is one of the most important determinants of this morbidity. Arginine is the precursor of nitric oxide and arginine plasma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of clinical nutrition 2000-08, Vol.54 (8), p.615-617
Main Authors: NIJVELDT, R. J, PRINS, H. A, SIROEN, M. P. C, RAUWERDA, J. A, TEERLINK, T, VAN LEEUWEN, P. A. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Amino acids
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Aorta
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - surgery
Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic - surgery
Aortic aneurysms
Arginine
Arginine - blood
Arginine - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Blood flow
Causes of
Chest
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Clinical nutrition
Complications and side effects
Development and progression
Digestive system
Emergency and intensive postoperative care (general aspects). Pathophysiology of surgery
Extremities
Female
Health aspects
High performance liquid chromatography
Humans
Immune system
Intensive care medicine
Intestinal ischemia
Ischemia
Liquid chromatography
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Morbidity
Nitric oxide
Nutrition
Organs
Patient outcomes
Patients
Plasma
Plasma levels
Reperfusion
Risk factors
Septic shock
Surgery
Wound healing
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Description
Summary:Thoracoabdominal aortic surgery is a high-risk procedure and associated with a significant morbidity and mortality. Ischemia reperfusion of visceral organs and lower extremities is one of the most important determinants of this morbidity. Arginine is the precursor of nitric oxide and arginine plasma levels are important in maintaining organ blood flow. Furthermore, arginine is important in wound healing and the immune system. Because of increased utilization of arginine, low arginine plasma levels could be expected after thoracoabdominal aortic surgery. We therefore measured arginine plasma levels in these patients. Six patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm were included in this study. University Hospital Vrije Universiteit, Department of Surgery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Six patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic surgery. Plasma levels of arginine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Very low arginine plasma levels were seen on the first postoperative day. From day 1 arginine slowly increased, but did not reach normal plasma levels on day 6. A significant decrease of arginine plasma levels was found and because of the fact that arginine has multiple functions, it may be important to keep these arginine plasma levels at normal or even higher levels in patients undergoing major vascular surgery. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 615-617.
ISSN:0954-3007
1476-5640
DOI:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601062