pH-Stat Versus α-Stat Acid-Base Management Strategy During Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest Combined With Embolic Brain Injury

These results suggest that pH-stat strategy does not cause any worse brain injury than the α-stat strategy. Indeed, the pH-stat strategy is associated with a slightly better outcome compared with the α-stat strategy, even in the setting of cerebral embolization. This observation suggests that the pH-stat strategy could also be used in adults during deep hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass despite the increased risk of intraoperative cerebral embolization.