A comparison of membrane and bubble oxygenation as used in cardiopulmonary bypass in patients. The importance of pericardial blood as a source of hemolysis.

A prospective clinical study involving more than 500 patients was designed to compare the Lande-Edwards membrane oxygenator and the Bentley bubble oxygenator. First, the importance of exposure of blood to the pericardium as the major source of hemolysis during open-heart surgery was confirmed. Because of this finding, we included in this study only those patients in whom the blood spilled into the pericardium was not returned to the pump. Under these circumstances, we found that hemolysis was relatively low in patients oxygenated with the Bentley bubble oxygenator but significantly lower in patients treated with the membrane oxygenator. Platelet loss was somewhat less in patients oxygenated with the membrane oxygenator.