Postoperative Multimodal Analgesia in Cardiac Surgery

Multimodal pain management of cardiac surgical patients is a paradigm shift in postoperative care. This promising approach features complementary medications and techniques that spare opioids and improves symptomatic and functional recovery. Although the specific elements remain to be defined, the collaboration of the health care team and patient and continuous iterative programmatic improvements are important pillars of this approach

Impact of Preoperative Hematocrit, Body Mass Index, and Red Cell Mass on Allogeneic Blood Product Usage in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients: Report From a Statewide Quality Initiative

OBJECTIVE: The study aims were to evaluate current blood transfusion practice in cardiac surgical patients and to explore associations between preoperative anemia, body mass index (BMI), red blood cell (RBC) mass, and allogeneic transfusion. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective study. SETTING: Academic and non-academic centers. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: After Institutional Review Board approval, 26,499 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting ± valve replacement/repair between 2011 and 2019 were included from the Maryland Cardiac Surgery Quality Initiative database. Patients were stratified into BMI categories (\u3c25, 25 to \u3c30, and ≥30 kg/m), and a multivariable logistic regression model was fit to determine if preoperative hematocrit, BMI, and RBC mass were associated independently with allogeneic transfusion. RESULTS: Preoperative anemia was found in 55.4%, and any transfusion was administered to 49.3% of the entire cohort. Females and older patients had lower BMI and RBC mass. Increased RBC and cryoprecipitate transfusions occurred more frequently after surgery in the lower BMI group. After adjustments, increased transfusion was associated with a BMI \u3c25 relative to a BMI ≥30 at an odds ratio (OR) of 1.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.39). For each 1% increase in preoperative hematocrit, transfusion was decreased by 9% (OR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.90-0.92). For every 500 mL increase in RBC mass, there was a 43% reduction of transfusion (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.55-0.58). CONCLUSIONS: Transfusion probability modeling based on calculated RBC mass eliminated sex differences in transfusion risk based on preoperative hematocrit, and may better delineate which patients may benefit from more rigorous perioperative blood conservation strategy

Maryland\u27s Global Budget Revenue Program and Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Background: In 2014 Maryland began a global budget revenue (GBR) program where hospitals were assigned a global budget for each year. We hypothesized that this program would be associated with changes in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patient risk profile, reductions in potentially preventable complications (PPCs) and 30-day hospital readmissions, and low annual per patient charge growth. Methods: Patients having isolated CABG surgery in Maryland between fiscal years 2013 and 2017 were included. Patient characteristics, admission all-payer refined severity of illness, PPCs, 30-day hospital readmissions, and per patient hospital charges were compared between years. The impact of Maryland\u27s GBR program on PPCs and 30-day hospital readmissions was evaluated using interrupted time series analysis. Results: During the study period 11,070 patients had CABG surgery. The percentage of patients with major or extreme severity of illness at admission differed significantly between years (34.6% in 2013 vs 46.1% in 2017, P \u3c .001). There was a significant reduction in mean PPC incidence of –22.8% (95% confidence interval, –29.8% to –15.8%) after GBR implementation but no significant reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions (–2.7%; 95% confidence interval, –6.0% to 0.6%). Without adjusting for inflation the annual per patient charge growth remained between –1.4% and 2.6% from 2013 to 2017. Conclusions: Maryland\u27s GBR program was associated with significant PPC reductions, minimal charge growth, and no significant change in 30-day hospital readmissions during its first 14 fiscal quarters. These findings suggest that Maryland\u27s GBR program achieved some but not all of its predefined goals in CABG patients

Mitigating the Risk: Transfusion or Reoperation for Bleeding After Cardiac Surgery

Background: Several studies have established morbidity associated with bleeding after cardiac surgery. Although reoperation has been implicated as the marker for this morbidity, there remains limited understanding regarding relative morbidities of reoperation and substantial transfusion. Methods: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Maryland Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (July 2011-September 2018) was reviewed (N = 23,240). Substantial transfusion was defined as requiring greater than the reoperation group median red blood cells (5 units) and non-red blood cells (4 units). Patients were stratified into 4 subgroups: group 1, no reoperation without substantial transfusion (n = 22,365); group 2, reoperation without substantial transfusion (n = 351); group 3, no reoperation with substantial transfusion (n = 350); and group 4, reoperation with substantial transfusion (n = 167). Operative morbidity and mortality were compared. Results: Reoperation patients were older with a higher STS predicted risk of mortality (1.8% vs 1.2%, P \u3c .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that group 4 increased the odds of renal failure (odds ratio [OR] 7.36, P \u3c .001), stroke (OR 3.24, P = .002), and operative mortality (OR 8.68, P \u3c .001) compared with group 1. Both group 2 and group 3 increased the odds of mortality and renal failure compared with group 1. However, group 3 had greater risk for renal failure (OR 3.48, P \u3c .001) and mortality (OR 2.91, P \u3c .001) than group 2. Conclusions: Although reoperation for bleeding is associated with morbidity after cardiac surgery, substantial transfusion without reoperation appears to increase morbidity compared with a limited-transfusion reoperative approach. Better timing for reoperation and guided transfusion approaches may mitigate morbidity compared with substantial transfusion alone

Clinical Practice Variation and Outcomes for Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection Repair Surgery in Maryland: Report from a Statewide Quality Initiative

Background Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery is associated with high mortality and clinical practice remains variable among hospitals. Few studies have examined statewide practice variation. Methods Patients who had Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery in Maryland between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018 were identified using the Maryland Cardiac Surgery Quality Initiative (MCSQI) database. Patient demographics, comorbidities, surgery details, and outcomes were compared between hospitals. We also explored the impact of arterial cannulation site and brain protection technique on outcome. Results A total of 233 patients were included from eight hospitals during the study period. Seventy-six percent of surgeries were done in two high-volume hospitals (≥10 cases per year), while the remaining 24% were done in low-volume hospitals. Operative mortality was 12.0% and varied between 0 and 25.0% depending on the hospital. Variables that differed significantly between hospitals included patient age, the percentage of patients in shock, left ventricular ejection fraction, creatinine level, arterial cannulation site, brain protection technique, tobacco use, and intraoperative blood transfusion. The percentage of patients who underwent aortic valve repair or replacement procedures differed significantly between hospitals (p \u3c 0.001), although the prevalence of moderate-to-severe aortic insufficiency was not significantly different (p = 0.14). There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes including mortality, renal failure, stroke, or gastrointestinal complications between hospitals or based on arterial cannulation site (all p \u3e 0.05). Patients who had aortic cross-clamping or endovascualr repair had more embolic strokes when compared with patients who had hypothermic circulatory arrest (p = 0.03). Conclusion There remains considerable practice variation in Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery within Maryland including some modifiable factors such as intraoperative blood transfusion, arterial cannulation site, and brain protection technique. Continued efforts are needed within MCSQI and nationally to evaluate and employ the best practices for patients having acute aortic dissection repair surgery

Racial Disparity in Cardiac Surgery Risk and Outcome: Report From a Statewide Quality Initiative

Background: Racial disparities persist in health care. Our study objective was to evaluate racial disparity in cardiac surgery in Maryland. Methods: A statewide database was used to identify patients. Demographics, comorbidities, and predicted risk of death were compared between races. Crude mortality and incidence of complications were compared between groups, as were risk-adjusted odds for mortality and major morbidity or mortality. Results: The study included 23,094 patients. Most patients were white (75.8%), followed by African American (16.3%), Asian (3.8%), and other races (4.1%). African Americans had a higher preoperative risk for mortality based on The Society of Thoracic Surgeons predictive models compared with white patients (3.0% vs 2.3%, P \u3c .001). African Americans also had higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebral vascular disease than white patients. After adjustment for preoperative risk, there was no difference in 30-day mortality between African Americans (odds ratio [OR], 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.59), Asians (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.75-1.97), and other races (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.74-1.89) compared with whites. African Americans had lower risk-adjusted odds of major morbidity or mortality compared with whites (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.75-0.93). Conclusions: African American cardiac surgical patients have the highest preoperative risk in Maryland. Patients appeared to receive excellent cardiac surgical care, regardless of race, as risk-adjusted mortality did not differ between groups, and African American patients had lower risk-adjusted odds of major morbidity or mortality than white patients. Future interventions in Maryland should be aimed at reducing preoperative risk disparity in cardiac surgical patients

State of the art: Proceedings of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery SummitCentral MessagePerspective

Despite the benefits established for multiple surgical specialties, enhanced recovery after surgery has been underused in cardiac surgery. A cardiac enhanced recovery after surgery summit was convened at the 102nd American Association for Thoracic Surgery annual meeting in May 2022 for experts to convey key enhanced recovery after surgery concepts, best practices, and applicable results for cardiac surgery. Topics included implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery, prehabilitation and nutrition, rigid sternal fixation, goal-directed therapy, and multimodal pain management

Cardiac surgeons concerns, perceptions, and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health care and cardiac surgery. We report cardiac surgeons concerns, perceptions, and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A detailed survey was sent to recruit participating adult cardiac surgery centers in North America. Data regarding cardiac surgeons perceptions and changes in practice were analyzed. RESULTS: Our study comprises 67 institutions with diverse geographic distribution across North America. Nurses were most likely to be redeployed (88%), followed by advanced care practitioners (69%), trainees (28%), and surgeons (25%). Examining surgeon concerns in regard to COVID-19, they were most worried with exposing their family to COVID-19 (81%), followed by contracting COVID-19 (68%), running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) (28%), and hospital resources (28%). In terms of PPE conservation strategies among users of N95 respirators, nearly half were recycling via decontamination with ultraviolet light (49%), followed by sterilization with heat (13%) and at home or with other modalities (13%). Reuse of N95 respirators for 1 day (22%), 1 week (21%) or 1 month (6%) was reported. There were differences in adoption of methods to conserve N95 respirators based on institutional pandemic phase and COVID-19 burden, with higher COVID-19 burden institutions more likely to resort to PPE conservation strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates the impact of COVID-19 on North American cardiac surgeons. Our study should stimulate further discussions to identify optimal solutions to improve workforce preparedness for subsequent surges, as well as facilitate the navigation of future healthcare crises