Perioperative use of levosimendan in cardiac surgery
<div data-canvas-width="623.7918644546122">It is known that low cardiac output in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is associated with organ dysfunction and mortality in the postoperative period. Catecholamines have been the standard therapy for many years, although they carry substantial risks for adverse cardiac and systemic effects, and have been reported to be associated with increased mortality. On the other hand, the calcium sensitiser and potassium channel opener levosimendan has been shown to improve the cardiac function with</div><div data-canvas-width="623.8018800588713">no imbalance in oxygen consumption, and to have protective effects in other organs. Several clinical trials have found beneficial effects of cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic perioperative use of levosimendan. The aim of this article was to describe the mechanism of levosimendan action, as well as to overview the current data regarding its clinical application.</div><div data-canvas-width="623.8018800588713"><span><br /></span></div><div data-canvas-width="623.8018800588713"><span>Received 22 April 2015. Accepted 18 June 2015.</span></div><div data-canvas-width="311.3250427845475"> </div><div data-canvas-width="311.3250427845475"> </div>