Neopterin predicts cardiac dysfunction following cardiac surgery

Oxidative stress following ischaemia and reperfusion, as well as inflammation, are thought to be important for the development of cardiac dysfunction after cardiac surgery. Our main objective was to investigate whether the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP), lactoferrin, neopterin and the terminal complement complex (TCC) were associated with cardiac dysfunction after cardiac surgery. Another objective was to assess whether the biomarkers could improve prediction of postoperative cardiac dysfunction compared with clinical variables only.