Efficacy and safety of sivelestat sodium for the treatment of inflammatory response in acute Stanford type A aortic dissection: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) after surgery for acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) via cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are strongly associated with mortality. Although the sivelestat sodium has been approved for the treatment of patients with acute lung injury, there is currently no enough evidence for improving inflammatory response and reducing the associated mortality. Our study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of sivelestat sodium for the treatment of inflammatory response in acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. METHODS: A total of 71 ATAAD patients who received surgical treatment at our center from January 2021 to December 2021 retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into the sivelestat sodium group and the control group. Clinical information including the postoperative oxygenation index (PaO(2)/FiO(2)), white blood cell (WBC) count, procalcitonin (PCT) level, interleukin-6 (IL-6) level, duration of ventilator use (hours), intensive care unit stay (days), and 28-day mortality rate, were collected. The statistical inference differences between the groups were compared using the non-paired Student’s t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, chi squared test and repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the sivelestat sodium group and the control group in terms of baseline characteristics (all P>0.05). The mortality rate was decreased in the sivelestat sodium group than the control group (10% vs. 13.73%). The subgroup analysis showed that for patients with a mechanical ventilation duration >96 h, the 48-h oxygenation index (149±53 vs. 260±66, P=0.001), and the 72-h oxygenation index (165±66 vs. 288±95, P=0.002) were significantly lower in the control group than the sivelestat sodium group. And the postoperative WBC count (P=0.015) and PCT level (P=0.033) were significantly lower in the sivelestat sodium group than the control group in post-operative day 4. CONCLUSIONS: Sivelestat sodium can improves the postoperative oxygenation index and inflammatory response for ATAAD patients requiring mechanical ventilation for extended periods.