Estudo comparativo entre duas estratégias de ventilação mecânica, protetora e convencional, no pós-operatório imediato de cirurgia cardíaca / Comparative study between two mechanical ventilation strategies in the immediate postoperative period of cardiac surgery

As complicações pulmonares são frequentes após a cirurgia cardíaca, resultando em aumento do tempo de internação hospitalar, dos custos e da morbidade perioperatória. Estudos recentes sugerem que o uso da estratégia protetora de ventilação mecânica pode reduzir a incidência de complicações pulmonares em pacientes submetidos a cirurgias não cardíacas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar se o emprego de ventilação mecânica protetora caracterizada por baixo volume corrente associada à estratégia intensiva de recrutamento alveolar intensiva reduz as complicações pulmonares graves em cinco dias em pacientes hipoxêmicos no pós-operatório imediato de cirurgia cardíaca. MÉTODOS: Após admissão na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Cirúrgica (UTI C), 4483 pacientes foram elegíveis, para o estudo, dos quais 320 pacientes com relação PaO2/FiO2< 250 foram incluídos. Foram randomizados 163 pacientes para o grupo convencional (GC) e 157 pacientes para o grupo intensivo (GI) de recrutamento alveolar. A estratégia convencional consistiu de ventilação mecânica invasiva com volume corrente de 6 mL/Kg (modo a volume) e dois ciclos com intervalo de 4 horas de manobra de recrutamento alveolar no modo CPAP=20 cmH20, realizadas 3 vezes consecutivas por um período de 30 segundos, sendo mantido PEEP de 8 cmH2O. A estratégia intensiva consistiu de ventilação mecânica invasiva com volume corrente de 6 mL/Kg (modo à pressão) e dois ciclos com intervalo de 4 horas de manobra de recrutamento alveolar com delta de pressão de 15 cmH20 e PEEP de 30 cmH20, realizadas 3 vezes consecutivas por um período de 60 segundos. O desfecho primário foi a taxa de complicações pulmonares graves em 5 dias de pós-operatório. Os desfechos secundários foram complicações pulmonares, reoperação, infecção de ferida operatória, fibrilação atrial, choque séptico, instabilidade hemodinâmica e mortalidade em 28 dias de pós-operatório, mecânica respiratória e hemodinâmica durante a...

Intra-operative lung-protective ventilation may reduce pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery. The protective role of a reduced tidal-volume (VT) has been established within this scenario, whereas the added- protection afforded by alveolar-recruiting strategies remains controversial. METHODS: In a prospective, controlled trial, we randomly assigned 320 high- risk adults presenting hypoxia afie r cardiac surgery to receive either an intensive alveolar-recruitment strategy (Intensive-RS) or a moderate alveolar- recruitment strategy (Moderate-RS), in addition to protective ventilation with small-v-. The maneuvers were applied shortly before extubation, without changing intraoperative care. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, which was assessed daily, till hospital discharge. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics and intra-operative procedures were similar between the two study-arms. Postoperative pulmonary complications, computed during the whole hospital stay, were significantly reduced in patients assigned to Intensive-RS (P = 0.002). Severe pulmonary complications occurred in 28 patients (17.8%) receiving Intensive-RS versus 47 patients (28.8%) receiving Moderate-RS (OR = 0.54; 95%CI:[0.32-0.91]; P = 0.02). The duration of hospital- stay was reduced from a mean of 12.4 days in the Moderate-RS to 10.9 days in the Intensive-RS (P = 0.037). The proportion of patients with hypoxemia at room air and who needed supplemental oxygen was lower in the Intensive-RS (59% versus 77%, P = 0.001). Also, the number of patients meeting strict criteria for noninvasive ventilation was lower in the Intensive-RS arm (4% versus 15% in the Moderate-RS, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A more intensive alveolar-recruitment strategy applied in hypoxemic patients after cardiac surgery may have long lasting benefits in pulmonary function, reducing postoperative complications and shortening the hospital stay...

High levels of B-type natriuretic peptide predict weaning failure from mechanical ventilation in adult patients after cardiac surgery

OBJECTIVE: The failure to wean from mechanical ventilation is related to worse outcomes after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the serum level of B-type natriuretic peptide is a predictor of weaning failure from mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study of 101 patients who underwent on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. B-type natriuretic peptide was measured postoperatively after intensive care unit admission and at the end of a 60-min spontaneous breathing test. The demographic data, hemodynamic and respiratory parameters, fluid balance, need for vasopressor or inotropic support, and length of the intensive care unit and hospital stays were recorded. Weaning failure was considered as either the inability to sustain spontaneous breathing after 60 min or the need for reintubation within 48 h. RESULTS: Of the 101 patients studied, 12 patients failed the weaning trial. There were no differences between the groups in the baseline or intraoperative characteristics, including left ventricular function, EuroSCORE and lengths of the cardiac procedure and cardiopulmonary bypass. The B-type natriuretic peptide levels were significantly higher at intensive care unit admission and at the end of the breathing test in the patients with weaning failure compared with the patients who were successfully weaned. In a multivariate model, a high B-type natriuretic peptide level at the end of a spontaneous breathing trial was the only independent predictor of weaning failure from mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: A high B-type natriuretic peptide level is a predictive factor for the failure to wean from mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery. These findings suggest that optimizing ventricular function should be a goal during the perioperative period.