del Nido cardioplegia

Del Nido cardioplegia is a specialized myocardial protection solution used to induce cardiac arrest during open-heart surgery. Developed in the early 1990s by Pedro Del Nido and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, it was initially designed for pediatric cardiac surgery but has since been widely adopted in adult procedures as well[8][1][9]. The formulation consists of a 4:1 ratio of crystalloid (typically Plasma-Lyte A) to autologous blood. Key components include potassium chloride (to induce depolarized arrest), lidocaine (a sodium channel blocker for membrane stabilization), magnesium sulfate (a calcium channel blocker), mannitol (an osmotic agent and free-radical scavenger), sodium bicarbonate (for pH buffering), and trace calcium from the blood fraction[7][6][8]. The mechanism centers on rapid induction of diastolic arrest, minimizing ischemia-reperfusion injury, stabilizing cell membranes, reducing intracellular calcium overload, and providing osmotic protection against edema. It is typically administered as a single dose at 20 mL/kg with a maximum volume around 1000 mL for adults[1][6][9].

Brand names

del Nido cardioplegia

Other names

del Nido solutionDNCdel Nido cardioplegic solution