Backgrround
The Left Ventricle Volume is one of the most important risk factor of mortality in follow‐up, after an Acute Myocardial Infarction.
Aims
Surgical Ventricular reconstruction reduces the ...volume of left ventricle to target of LVESI below 60 ml/m2.
Methods
This can be achieved with different surgical techniques adapted to anatomy of left ventricle in the way to exclude the scared tissue from the cavity of left ventricle. New cavity has to have an elipsoide shape and normal volume.
Conclusion
This commentary stress out the importance using a sizer to guide the surgeons to acheive the target shape and volume using different techniques described in Calafiore and coworkers paper.
Background Preoperative anemia is not considered an operative mortality risk factor by the majority of the risk stratification tools used in cardiac surgery. However, retrospective studies have found ...associations between preoperative anemia and morbidity and mortality in cardiac operations. The present study compares the postoperative outcome of a group of moderate-to-severe anemic patients with a propensity-matched group of nonanemic patients undergoing cardiac operations. Methods This is a retrospective study based on 17,056 consecutive patients included in our Institutional Database. A total of 13,843 adult patients with preoperative hematocrit value available were selected for this study; 401 patients had a severe anemia (hematocrit < 30%). From the remaining patients, a control group of 401 non-severely anemic patients was selected with a propensity-based matching. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were compared between the 2 groups. Results The 2 groups were comparable for preoperative comorbidities and operative details. Anemic patients had a significantly ( p = 0.045) higher rate of stroke (1% vs 0%), major morbidity (27.4% vs 17.5%, p = 0.001), and a significantly higher (0.014) operative mortality rate (12.7% vs 7.5%). An additional analysis, inclusive of patients with moderate preoperative anemia, confirmed these results. Conclusions Moderate-to-severe preoperative anemia is a risk factor for major morbidity and operative mortality in adult cardiac operations. This finding is confirmative of the role of preoperative anemia in determining adverse events in major noncardiac operations. The exclusion of preoperative anemia from the existing risk scores is probably a statistical consequence of the associated comorbid conditions that confound the specific role of anemia as a risk factor.
During the acute phase of COVID-19, many patients experience a complex coagulopathy characterized by a procoagulant pattern. The present study investigates the persistence of hemostatic changes in ...post-COVID patients at a long-term follow up, and the link with the persistence of physical and neuropsychological symptoms. We completed a prospective cohort study on 102 post-COVID patients. Standard coagulation and viscoelastic tests were performed, along with an assessment of persistent symptoms and recording of acute phase details. A procoagulant state was adjudicated in the presence of fibrinogen > 400 mg/dL, or D-dimer > 500 ng/mL, or platelet count > 450,000 cells/µL, or a maxim clot lysis at viscoelastic test < 2%. A procoagulant state was identified in 75% of the patients at 3 months follow up, 50% at 6 months, and 30% at 12-18 months. Factors associated with the persistence of a procoagulant state were age, severity of the acute phase, and persistence of symptoms. Patients with major physical symptoms carry a procoagulant state relative risk of 2.8 (95% confidence interval 1.17-6.7,
= 0.019). The association between persistent symptoms and a procoagulant state raises the hypothesis that an ongoing process of thrombi formation and/or persistent microthrombosis may be responsible for the main physical symptoms in long-COVID patients.
Objective The increasing life expectancy of the population will likely be accompanied by a rise in the incidence of acute type A aortic dissection. However, because of an increased risk of cardiac ...surgery in an elderly population, it is important to define when, if at all, the risks of aortic repair outweigh the risk of death from unoperated type A aortic dissection. Methods We analyzed 936 patients with type A aortic dissection enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection from 1996 to 2004. Patients with type A aortic dissection were categorized according to patient age by decade and by surgical versus medical management, and outcomes of both management types were investigated in the different age groups. Results The rate of surgical aortic repair decreased progressively with age, whereas surgical mortality significantly increased with age. Age 70 years or more was an independent predictor for mortality (38.2% vs 26.0%; P < .0001, odds ratio 1.73). The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower after surgical management compared with medical management until the age of 80 years. For patients aged 80 to 90 years, the in-hospital mortality appeared to be lower after surgical management (37.9% vs 55.2%; P = .188); however, this failed to reach clinical significance owing to the limited patient number in this age group. Conclusions Although the surgical mortality significantly increased with increased age, surgical management was still associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality rates compared with medical management until the age of 80 years. Surgery may decrease the in-hospital mortality rate for octogenarians with type A aortic dissection and might be considered in all patients with type A aortic dissection regardless of age.
Background Primary cardiac tumors are quite uncommon and myxomas constitute the major proportion among these masses. The present study summarizes our 20-year clinical experience with surgical ...resection of intracardiac myxomas. Methods Between January 1990 and December 2007, 98 patients (42 males, mean age 60.4 ± 4.1 years) underwent complete excision of primary intracardiac myxoma. In 84 patients the origin site of the tumor was located in the left atrium, and the most common implant site was the interatrial septum. The most common symptom at admission was dyspnea, while systemic embolization was observed in 37 patients. Preoperative diagnosis was established in all patients by transthoracic echocardiography. All patients were operated through median sternotomy. Results Ninety-five patients (97%) survived the operation. Mean tumor dimension was 2.7 ± 1.3 cm in largest diameter. According to the St. John Sutton classification (St. John Sutton MG, Mercier LA, Giuliani ER, et al. Atrial myxomas: a review of clinical experience in 40 patients. Mayo Clin Pro 1980;55:371–6), solid tumors were detected in 43 patients (44%), while a papillary myxoma was found in 55 patients (56%). The follow-up was 100% complete, and the mean time to last follow-up was 98 ± 60 months. Of the 95 survivors, 3 patients (3%) died at a mean follow-up of 72 ± 45 months after surgery. Actuarial survival was 98%, 98%, and 89% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. One patient operated for left atrial myxoma resection showed a recurrence 68 months after the first surgery. Conclusions Although cardiac myxomas carry the risk of severe systemic and cardiac symptoms, prompt surgical excision gives excellent early and long-term results.
Platelet dysfunction after cardiac surgery is a determinant of postoperative bleeding. The existing guidelines suggest the use of desmopressin and/or platelet concentrate transfusions in case of ...platelet dysfunction in bleeding patients, but no cut-off values for platelet activity exist in the literature. The Platelet Function in the Operating Room (PLATFORM) study aims to identify the relationship between platelet function after cardiopulmonary bypass and severe bleeding, finding adequate predictive values of platelet function for severe bleeding. The PLATFORM is a prospective cohort study on 490 adult patients receiving cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients received platelet function tests (multiple electrode aggregometry ADPtest and TRAPtest) before surgery and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and routine coagulation tests before surgery and at the arrival in the intensive care unit. The post-cardiopulmonary bypass ADPtest and TRAPtest were significantly (P = 0.001) associated with severe bleeding, as well as the post-cardiopulmonary bypass activated partial thromboplastin time, the international normalized ratio, and the fibrinogen concentration. At a multivariable analysis, the ADPtest (odds ratio 0.962, 95% confidence interval 0.936-0.989, P = 0.005) and the activated partial thromboplastin time (odds ratio 1.097, 95% confidence interval 1.016-1.185, P = 0.017) remained independently associated with severe bleeding. The post-cardiopulmonary bypass ADPtest had the best discrimination, with an area under the curve of 0.712. The best positive predictive value (42%) was found at a cut-off ≤8 U. In conclusion, platelet function tests after cardiopulmonary bypass are significantly associated with postoperative bleeding. However, postoperative bleeding has a multifactorial nature, and the measure of platelet function alone does not provide a high positive predictive value for severe bleeding.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Gender influences platelet biology. Women have a larger platelet count, but gender-based differences in platelet function remain debated. We performed a study addressing gender-based differences in ...platelet function using point-of-care platelet function tests (PFT).
The patient population consisted of 760 cardiac surgery patients where preoperative PFT (multiple-electrode aggregometry MEA) were available. Platelet count and function at the ADPtest and TRAPtest were compared in the overall population and separately in patients with or without residual effects of P2Y12 inhibitors.
Women had a significantly (P = 0.001) higher platelet count but a non-significantly higher platelet reactivity to ADP. In clopidogrel-treated patients, the platelets ADP reactivity was significantly (P = 0.031) higher in women, and platelet count was the main determinant of platelet hyper-reactivity. Within patients under full clopidogrel effects, women with a platelet count ≥ 200,000 cells/μL had a significantly (P = 0.023) higher rate of high-on-treatment platelet reactivity (HTPR, 45.5%) with respect to males with a platelet count < 200,000 cells/μL (11.9%), with a relative risk of 6.2 (95% confidence interval 1.4-29).
Our findings confirm that women have a larger platelet count than men, and that this is associated to a trend towards a higher platelet reactivity. HTPR is largely represented in women with a high platelet count. This generates the hypothesis that women requiring P2Y12 inhibitors could potentially benefit from larger doses of drug or should be treated with anti-platelet agents with a low rate of HTPR.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
Imaging of brain involvement in infective endocarditis can drive the clinical management of this serious condition. MRI is very sensitive, but CT is more readily available. In this ...retrospective study, we compared the detection rates of CT and MRI.
Methods
After Ethics Committee approval, we retrospectively reviewed a series of 20 patients (13 males, median age 64 years) who underwent both CT and MRI either before or after cardiac surgery for definite infective endocarditis. Plain CT and MRI were evaluated for acute ischemic lesions, both punctuate and large, intraparenchymal hemorrhages, cerebral microbleeds, subarachnoid hemorrhages, abscesses, microabscesses, and meningitis. Qualitative assessment and McNemar test were performed. The value of contrast-enhanced scans (MRI,
n
= 14; CT,
n
= 9) and cognitive status were also assessed.
Results
A total of 166 lesions were identified on either technique: 137 (83%) on MRI only, 4 (2%) on CT only, and 25 (15%) on both techniques (p < 0.001). For these last 25 lesions, concordance on lesion type was only 16/25 (64%). MRI detected more microbleeds and ischemic lesions, while the 4 CT-only findings were false positives. Contrast-enhanced scans identified 68 enhancing lesions, mainly abscesses and microabscesses, and allowed a better characterization for 61/117 lesions (52%) with MRI, and for 11/81 (14%) with CT. Follow-up identified mild cognitive impairment in 6/13 and dementia in 3/13 patients.
Conclusion
While CT rapidly excludes large hemorrhages in patients with infective endocarditis, MRI accurately distinguishes the whole spectrum of brain lesions, including small ischemic lesions, microbleeds, and microabscesses.
Postoperative bleeding after heart operations is still a common finding, leading to allogeneic blood products transfusion. Fibrinogen and coagulation factors deficiency are possible determinants of ...bleeding. The experimental hypothesis of this study is that a first-line fibrinogen supplementation avoids the need for fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and reduces the need for any kind of transfusions.
This was a single-center, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study. One-hundred sixteen patients undergoing heart surgery with an expected cardiopulmonary bypass duration >90 minutes were admitted to the study. Patients in the treatment arm received fibrinogen concentrate after protamine administration; patients in the control arm received saline solution. In case of ongoing bleeding, patients in the treatment arm could receive prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) and those in the control arm saline solution. The primary endpoint was avoidance of any allogeneic blood product. Patients in the treatment arm had a significantly lower rate of any allogeneic blood products transfusion (odds ratio, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.19 to 0.84, P=0.015). The total amount of packed red cells and FFP units transfused was significantly lower in the treatment arm. Postoperative bleeding was significantly (P=0.042) less in the treatment arm (median, 300 mL; interquartile range, 200 to 400 mL) than in the control arm (median, 355 mL; interquartile range, 250 to 600 mL).
Fibrinogen concentrate limits postoperative bleeding after complex heart surgery, leading to a significant reduction in allogeneic blood products transfusions. No safety issues were raised.
URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01471730.
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