Intravenous NTG to Preserve Gastric Microcirculation During Gastric Tube Reconstruction

Complications of oesophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction are leakage and stenosis, which may be due to compromised microvascular blood flow (MBF) in the gastric tissue. We recently demonstrated that peri-operatively decreased MBF could be improved by topical administration of nitro-glycerine NTG). In this present study we investigate the effect of intravenous NTG on gastric microcirculation. This single centre, prospective, double blinded study randomized thirty-two patients scheduled for esophagectomy into two groups. The intervention group received intravenous NTG during gastric tube reconstruction, as the control group received normal saline. Baseline values of MBF, microvascular haemoglobin O2 saturation (μHbSO2), and microvascular haemoglobin concentration (μHbcon) were determined at the gastric fundus before and after gastric tube construction and after pulling up the gastric tube to the neck.