Title:The Effects of Melatonin on the Oxidative Stress and Duration of Atrial Fibrillation after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Volume: 21
Issue: 6
Author(s): Saghar Barati, Alireza Jahangirifard, Zargham H. Ahmadi, Maria Tavakoli-Ardakani and Farzaneh Dastan*
Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Atrial fibrillation, coronary artery, bypass graft surgery, melatonin, oxidative stress, angina.
Abstract:
Background: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common complication following Coronary artery
bypass graft (CABG) Surgery, which may be due to oxidative stress, necrosis and inflammation during
CABG and can lead to increases the length of hospital stay and the risk of morbidity and mortality.
Melatonin is a hormone with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in the cardiovascular system.
This study assessed the efficacy of sublingual consumption of melatonin in reducing necrosis and
inflammation, in patients undergoing CABG with respect to C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), Creatine
Kinase-Muscle-Brain subunits (CK-MB) and cardiac Troponin T (cTnT) levels.
Methods: One hundred and two patients were enrolled and twenty-six patients were excluded during
the study process and finally seventy-six patients undergoing CABG surgery randomly assigned to
melatonin group (n = 38, 12 mg sublingual melatonin the evening before and 1 hour before surgery, or
the control group which did not receive Melatonin, n = 38). Three patients in the melatonin group and
three patients in the control group were excluded from the study because of discontinued intervention
and lost to follow up. The samples were collected before and 24 hours after surgery. hs-CRP, CK-MB,
and cTnT levels were measured in all patients with the Elisa method.
Results: There was no significant difference in influencing variables among the groups at the baseline.
The incidence of AF following CABG surgery was not statistically significant between the two groups,
(p-value = 0.71). However, the duration of AF (p-value = 0.01), the levels of hs-CRP (p-value = 0.001)
and CK-MB (p-value = 0.004) measured, 24 hours after surgery were significantly lower in the melatonin
group. cTnT levels measured 24 hours post-CABG did not show any significant difference in
both groups (p-value = 0.52).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the administration of melatonin may help modulate oxidative
stress, based on the reduction of the levels of hs-CRP, CK-MB, and the duration of AF following
CABG surgery.
