Heart preservation with celsior solution improved by the addition of nitroglycerine

Background Preservation of rat hearts was extended to 16 hr when nitroglycerine (NTG) was added to colloid-free University of Wisconsin solution (MUW). This study examined the effectiveness of Celsior solution (CEL) and whether adding NTG to CEL would improve and extend cardiac preservation. Methods. Two studies were conducted: (a) 9-hr preservation with either CEL or MUW, (b) 16-hr preservation with GEL, CEL+NTG, or MUW+NTG. Rat heart isografts were flushed and stored at 0 degreesC before heterotopic transplantation with an indwelling externalized intraventricular balloon-tipped catheter, One and 7 days after transplantation, quantitative functional studies were performed. Results. After 9-hr preservation, all (6/6) grafts preserved with MUW beat for 7 days, whereas only 1/6 hearts preserved with CEL continued to beat. After 16-hr preservation, 6/10 CEL+NTG hearts beat for 7 days compared with 7/8 MUW NTG hearts; none of the hearts preserved with CEL survived. Function was similar in CEL+NTG and MUW+NTG groups on day 1 (left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP): CEL+NTG=64 +/- 16, MUW+NTG=104 +/- 16 mmHg; maximum dP/dt: CEL+ NTG=2024 +/- 551, MUW+NTG=3582 +/- 513 mmHg/sec) and day 7: (LVDP: CEL+NTG=126 +/- 25, MUW+NTG=177 +/- 24 mmHg, maximum dP/dt: CEL+NTG=3835 +/- 848, MUW+ NTG=5639 +/- 670 mmHg/sec). Function in both groups improved significantly (P <0.05) on day 7 compared with day 1. Conclusions. Celsior was not as effective as MUW for rat heart preservation. The addition of NTG to both CEL and MUW provided similar effective preservation for 16 hr. NTG should be added routinely to both solutions.