Hyperamylasemia after cardiac surgery: which significance?]

We report the case of an 82-year-old woman, suffering of aortic valve stenosis, hospitalized for an aortic valve replacement surgery. This woman presented a hyperamylasemia during the early postoperative period. This raised the question of issue and explanation of this hyperamylasemia. A review of the literature showed that hyperamylasemia was reported in a large number of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, with various serum amylase levels and time courses. Mechanisms of this hyperamylasemia remain poorly understood and the interest of amylasemia measurement after cardiothoracic surgery is not clearly defined. Since postoperative hyperamylasemia can result from a tissular hypoxia, blood lactate measurement could be a more effective biochemical marker.