Hypoxia And Inflammation Of The Kidney And Brain During And After Cardiopulmonary Bypass

This PhD project focuses on the pathophysiology of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury and brain injury and developing methods for detecting sub-clinical kidney injury. We find that renal and cerebral hypoxia and inflammation during cardiopulmonary bypass may play important roles in the pathophysiology of subsequent kidney and brain injury. However, neither hypothermia nor the drug dexmedetomidine prevent the hypoxia and inflammation caused by cardiopulmonary bypass. Renal functional reserve is a potential biomarker for detecting sub-clinical kidney injury. Its recruitment by infusion of amino acids appears to be safe for the kidney, at least in the absence of pre-existing kidney disease.