Bilirubin adsorption for the treatment of severe hyperbilirubinemia after cardiac surgery: A retrospective cohort study

Objective: Severe hyperbilirubinemia after cardiac surgery increases in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Our present study aimed to analyze the safety and efficacy of bilirubin adsorption (BA) in patients with post-cardiac-surgery severe hyperbilirubinemia. Methods: We retrospectively included patients who underwent BA due to severe hyperbilirubinemia after cardiac surgery in our center between January 2015 and December 2018. The change of serum bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and 30-day and 1-year mortality were assessed as endpoints. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to identify the risk factors of patient 30-day mortality. Result: A total of 25 patients with 44 BA treatments were included. One BA treatment reduced total bilirubin (TB) concentration from 431.65 +/- 136.34 to 324.83 +/- 129.44 mu mol/L (p <0.001), with a reduction rate of 24.8%. No clinically relevant thrombosis of the extracorporeal circuit occurred during the BA treatment. The 30-day and 1-year mortality rates were 68% (n = 18) and 84% (n = 2 I), respectively. Multivariate analysis identified that TB level before BA treatment (odds ratio [OR] 1.010, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.000-1.019; p= 0.043) was an independent risk factor of 30-day mortality. Conclusions: BA treatment should be considered as an effective and safe method for the reduction of serum bilirubin in patients with post-cardiac-surgery severe hyperbilirubinemia. Patients with higher TB level before BA treatment had a relatively increased risk of 30-day mortality. Further studies are needed to evaluate the timing of BA for severe hyperbilirubinemia after cardiac surgery.