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Levosimendan for Hemodynamic Support after Cardiac Surgery

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Submitted by

Arie Blitz

Source

Source Name: NEJM

Source URL: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1616325#t=abstract

Author(s)

Giovanni Landoni, M.D., Vladimir V. Lomivorotov, M.D., Ph.D., Gabriele Alvaro, M.D., Rosetta Lobreglio, M.D., Antonio Pisano, M.D., Fabio Guarracino, M.D, Maria G. Calabrò, M.D., Evgeny V. Grigoryev, M.D., Ph.D., Valery V. Likhvantsev, M.D., Ph.D., Marcello F. Salgado-Filho, M.D., Ph.D., Alessandro Bianchi, M.D., Vadim V. Pasyuga, M.D., Massimo Baiocchi, M.D., Federico Pappalardo, M.D., Fabrizio Monaco, M.D., Vladimir A. Boboshko, M.D., Ph.D., Marat N. Abubakirov, M.D., Bruno Amantea, M.D., Rosalba Lembo, M.Sc., Luca Brazzi, M.D., Ph.D., Luigi Verniero, M.D., Pietro Bertini, M.D., Anna M. Scandroglio, M.D., Tiziana Bove, M.D., Alessandro Belletti, M.D., Maria G. Michienzi, M.D., Dmitriy L. Shukevich, M.D., Ph.D., Tatiana S. Zabelina, M.D., Rinaldo Bellomo, M.D., Ph.D., and Alberto Zangrillo, M.D., for the CHEETAH Study Group*

The authors report here on the results of the Italian CHEETAH study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examining whether adding the unique inotrope levosimendan—in low doses—improves 30-day mortality after cardiac surgery in patients with perioperative LV dysfunction. The trial was halted after the first 506 patients were enrolled because of the futility of continuing the trial. There were no significant differences between the levosimendan group and the placebo group in 30-day survival, as well as for any of the measured postoperative secondary outcomes. (Levosimendan is currently not FDA approved for use in the U.S.)