The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 74, 295-298, Copyright © 1977 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
The effect of dipyridamole on the thrombocyte count and bleeding tendency in open-heart surgery
LS Nuutinen, R Pihlajaniemi, E Saarela, P Karkola and A Hollmen
The effect of dipyridamole (Persantine) on the thrombocyte count and
bleeding tendency in connection with open-heart surgery and perfusion was
studied in 22 patients. A control series of 21 patients undergoing
open-heart surgery was available. The treatment group received
dipyridamole, 0.5 mg. per kilogram of body weight, in the beginning of
cardiopulmonary bypass into the heart-lung machine and thereafter 10 mg.
intravenously three times daily for 2 days. From the third day dipyridamole
was administered by mouth, 75 mg. three times a day, until the patient was
discharged from hospital. We found that dipyridamole had the effect of
maintaining the thrombocyte count during cardiopulmonary bypass and the
first and second postoperative days. Thereafter no significant difference
was seen between the dipyridamole and control groups. The use of
dipyridamole did not increase the postoperative hemorrhagic tendency. There
were no significant differences in per- and postoperative blood loss and in
bleeding and activated partial thromboplastin times between the groups.
