Relationship Between Microcirculatory Flow Alterations and Tissue Metabolism

Correlation Between Microcirculatory Flow and Rectal Anaerobe Cellular CO2 Production in Patients After Cardiac Surgery

The purpose of this study is to correlate microcirculatory flow and rectal anaerobe cellular CO2 production in patients after cardiac surgery. The hypothesis is that such a correlation exists.

Sidestream Darkfield imaging is used to determine rectal microcirculatory flow in patients after postoperative cardiac surgery. At the same time PCO2 gap is established by monitoring rectal CO2 (tonometry) and arterial CO2 After initial enrollment and first analysis we also includes a control group with equal inclusion criteria for sublingual SDF imaging.

Inclusion Criteria:

• cardiac surgery
• informed consent
• age > 18

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy
• off pump procedure
• rectal fecal contamination