Electrical failure during cardiopulmonary bypass: an evaluation of incidence, causes, management and guidelines for preventative measures

The incidence of electrical failure during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been reported to occur in approximately 1 per 1000 cases.(1,2) While the resultant morbidity and mortality is low, electrical failure is a life-threatening scenario. We report three major electrical failures during CPB in a patient population of 3500 over a 15-year period. These cases involved mains failure and generator shut down, mains failure and generator power surge, and failure of the uninterruptable power supply (UPS), which caused protected sockets to shut down. Protocols for preventative maintenance, necessary equipment, battery backup and guidelines for the successful management of such accidents during CPB are discussed.