L-carnitine decreases myocardial injury in children undergoing open-heart surgery: A randomized controlled trial

Conclusion: L-carnitine can reduce myocardial injury, improve post-operative left ventricular cardiac function, and may provide myocardium protection in children with CHD who underwent open-heart surgery.  Trial registration:  The clinical trial was registered atwww.pactr.org with registration number PACTR202010570607420 at 29/10/2020 before recruiting the patients.What is Known:• Myocardial injury in open-heart surgery is related to several factors including ischemia–reperfusion injury, generation of reactive oxygen species, increased production of inflammatory mediators, and enhancement of apoptosis of cardiomyocytes.• L-carnitine was reported to have myocardial protective effects in rheumatic valvular surgery and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in adults; however, there is no evidence on its effectiveness in children undergoing open-heart surgery.What is New:• L-carnitine significantly lowered the post-operative level of oxidative stress marker (MDA), apoptosis markers (fas and caspase-3), and myocardial injury markers (CK-MB and troponin I) in the treatment group.• L-carnitine can reduce myocardial injury, improve post-operative left ventricular cardiac function, and may provide myocardium protection in children with CHD who underwent open-heart surgery.
Source: European Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: research