Effet préventif de la milrinone inhalée chez les patients avec hypertension pulmonaire subissant une chirurgie cardiaque sous circulation extracorporelle : une approche pharmacométrique

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a technique used during cardiac surgery performed thousands of times each day worldwide. Hemodynamic complications associated with difficult separation from CPB represent a leading cause of mortality in cardiac surgery and pulmonary hypertension (PH) was identified as one of the most important predictor and risk factor. Recently, inhaled milrinone administration prior to CPB was hypothesized to have a preventive effect and facilitate separation from CPB in patients with PH. However, this indication and route of administration have not yet been approved by regulatory agencies for milrinone. So far, research efforts on inhaled milrinone have mainly focused on evidence supporting hemodynamic efficacy and safety in cardiac patients although no biomarker has been established. The most appropriate dose for nebulization has never been determined, nor have pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles been characterized after inhalation. The objective of the current research consisted of characterizing the exposure-response relationship for milrinone administered by inhalation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. An improved high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analytical assay using UV detection was validated for the quantification of milrinone in plasma after inhalation and proved to be sensitive and accurate. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1.25 ng/ml with mean intra-assay and inter-assay precisions (CV%) <8%. Pulmonary hypertensive patients scheduled for cardiac surgery with CPB were first recruited for a pilot (n=12) and, subsequently, a full-scale (n=28) study where milrinone (5mg) was administered by inhalation pre-CPB. In the pilot study, milrinone early systemic exposure was investigated using a jet nebulizer or a mesh nebulizer. Nebulizers performance in terms of emitted and inhaled doses were also determined in vitro. In the full-scale study, using a mesh nebulizer exclusively, in vivo inhaled dose was estimated and milrinone definite pharmacokinetics fully characterized based on blood sampling and urine collection. Mean arterial pressure to mean pulmonary arterial pressure ratio (mAP/mPAP) was selected as the PD biomarker. Milrinone exposure-response relationship was characterized during the inhalation period by studying the relationship between individual area under the effect-time curve (AUEC) and corresponding area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC). Finally, the mAP/mPAP ratio, among other variables, was explored as a potential predictor of difficult separation from bypass in a multiple logistic regression model. In vitro experiments demonstrated that emitted doses were similar for the jet (64%) and the mesh (68.0%) nebulizers. However, the inhaled dose was 2-3 fold higher (46% vs 17%) after mesh nebulization, which was in agreement with plasma concentrations. In patients, due to variations in circuit-related and ventilator-related factors, the inhaled dose was estimated to be lower (30%) and this was confirmed by 24-h recovery in urine (26%). Milrinone peak plasma concentrations (Cmax: 41-189 ng/ml) and magnitude of peak response ΔRmax-R0 (0-65%) were observed at the end of inhalation (10-30 min). Data obtained from PK analysis agreed with published data for intravenous milrinone. After the inhalation period, individual AUEC were directly related to AUC (P=0.045). Finally, our PD biomarker, expressed as ΔRmax-R0, as well as CPB duration, were both identified as significant predictors of DSB. The comparison of corresponding AUC and AUEC provided preliminary evidence of a proof of concept for the use of the mAP/mPAP ratio as a promising PD biomarker and warrants future PK/PD studies. Indeed, mAP/mPAP ratio variation in response to inhaled milrinone was found to contribute in the prevention of DSB.

Keyphrases: Inhalation, Milrinone, Patients, Pharmacodynamie, Cardiac surgery, Cardiopulmonary bypass, Inhalation, Nebulizer, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamic, Pulmonary hypertension