Splenic Rupture after Infective Endocarditis by Enterococcus faecalis: Case Report.

Aims: In patients with infective endocarditis, with risk of embolization, early identification of parenchymal changes may suggest the risk of splenic rupture. Presentation of Case: A 68-year-old male presented with a history of 2 months of fever and also left upper quadrant pain initiated 2 days before admission. Transesophageal echocardiogram demonstrated the presence of two mobile vegetations on the ventricular side of the aortic valve; the largest diameter being 2.1 cm. Enterococcus faecalis was isolated in blood culture after a diagnosis of subacute aortic valve infective endocarditis. He complained of abdominal pain. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed infarction of the upper region of the spleen (septic embolism). Therapy with penicillin and gentamicin was initiated, but the patient developed symptoms of heart failure that led to a surgical treatment, and aortic bioprosthesis was implanted on day 14. On day 5 postoperatively, the patient developed sudden hemorrhagic shock signs due to splenic rupture and underwent emergency splenectomy. A pathological examination revealed areas of splenic laceration of the capsule, splenic infarction areas, and the absence of abscesses. Splenic rupture is a complication much rarely occurring due to infectious endocarditis caused by E. faecalis. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of conducting serial imaging, particularly in symptomatic patients, for the early detection of parenchymal changes that may suggest the risk of rupture.

Improving Indicators in a Brazilian Hospital Through Quality-Improvement Programs Based on STS Database Reports

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To report the initial changes after quality-improvement programs based on STS-database in a Brazilian hospital. METHODS: Since 2011 a Brazilian hospital has joined STS-Database and in 2012 multifaceted actions based on STS reports were implemented aiming reductions in the time of mechanical ventilation and in the intensive care stay and also improvements in evidence-based perioperative therapies among patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgeries. RESULTS: All the 947 patients submitted to coronary artery bypass graft surgeries from July 2011 to June 2014 were analyzed and there was an improvement in all the three target endpoints after the implementation of the quality-improvement program but the reduction in time on mechanical ventilation was not statistically significant after adjusting for prognostic characteristics. CONCLUSION: The initial experience with STS registry in a Brazilian hospital was associated with improvement in most of targeted quality-indicators.

Evaluation of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons score system for isolated coronary bypass graft surgery in a Brazilian population / Avaliação dos escores da Society of Thoracic Surgeons para cirurgia de revascularização miocárdica isolada em uma população brasileira

Objective: Report the experience with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons scoring system in a Brazilian population submitted to isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods: Data were collected from January-2010 to December-2011, and analyzed to determine the performance of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons scoring system on the determination of postoperative mortality and morbidity, using the method of the receiver operating characteristic curve as well as the Hosmer-Lemeshow and the Chi-square goodness of fit tests. From the 1083 cardiac surgeries performed during the study period 659 represented coronary artery bypass graft procedures which are included in the present analysis. Mean age was 61.4 years and 77% were men. Results: Goodness of fit tests have shown good calibration indexes both for mortality (X2=6.78, P=0.56) and general morbidity (X2=6.69, P=0.57). Analysis of area under the ROC-curve (AUC) demonstrated a good performance to detect the risk of death (AUC 0.76; P<0.001), renal failure (AUC 0.79; P<0.001), prolonged ventilation (AUC 0.80; P<0.001), reoperation (AUC 0.76; P<0.001) and major morbidity (AUC 0.75; P<0.001) which represents the combination of the assessed postoperative complications. STS scoring system did not present comparable results for short term hospital stay, prolonged length of hospital stay and could not be properly tested for stroke and wound infection. Conclusion: Society of Thoracic Surgeons scoring system presented a good calibration and discrimination in our population to predict postoperative mortality and the majority of the harmful events following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Analysis of larger samples might be needed to further validate the use of the score system in Brazilian populations. .

Objetivo: Relatar a experiência com o "Society of Thoracic Surgeons scoring system" em uma amostra de pacientes da população brasileira submetida a cirurgia de revascularização miocárdica isolada. Métodos: Foram coletados dados de janeiro de 2010 até dezembro de 2011 e analisados para determinar o desempenho do "Society of Thoracic Surgeons scoring system" na determinação de mortalidade e morbidade pós-operatória, utilizando o método da característica de operação do receptor (ROC-curve) e tes tes Chi-quadrado e Hosmer-Lemeshow para qualidade de ajus te. Das 1083 cirurgias cardíacas realizadas durante o período de estudo, 659 foram cirurgias de revascularização miocárdica que são aqui analisadas. A idade média foi de 61,4 anos e 77% dos pacientes eram homens. Resultados: Testes de bondade de ajustamento demonstraram boa calibração tanto para mortalidade (X2=6,78, P=0,56) quanto para morbidade geral (X2=6,69, P=0,57). A análise da área sob a curva ROC (AUC) demonstrou bom desempenho para detectar o risco de morte (AUC 0,76; P<0,001), insuficiência renal (AUC 0,79; P<0,001), ventilação prolongada (AUC 0,80; P<0,001), reoperação (AUC 0,76; P<0,001) e morbidade maior (AUC 0,75; P<0.001) que representa a combinação das complicações avaliadas. O escore Society of Thoracic Surgeons não apresentou resultados comparáveis para internação de curta duração, internação hospitalar prolongada e não pôde ser adequadamente testado para acidente vascular cerebral e infecção de ferida operatória. Conclusão: O sistema de escore Society of Thoracic Surgeons apresentou boa calibração e discriminação em nossa população para a predição de mortalidade p...

Implantação de protocolo institucional para o uso racional de hemoderivados e seu impacto no pós-operatório de cirurgias de revascularização miocárdica / Implementation of an institutional protocol for rational use of blood products and its impact on postoperative of coronary artery bypass graft surgery

OBJETIVO: Cirurgias cardíacas são, por vezes, acompanhadas de perdas sanguíneas significativas, e transfusões de sangue podem ser necessárias. No entanto, o uso indiscriminado de hemoderivados pode resultar em efeitos danosos para o paciente. Neste estudo, avaliamos os efeitos imediatos da implantação de um protocolo para o uso racional de hemoderivados no perioperatório de cirurgias de revascularização miocárdica. MÉTODOS: Entre os meses de abril e junho de 2011, foi implementado um protocolo institucional em um hospital privado especializado em cardiologia com a anuência e a colaboração de sete equipes de cirurgia cardíaca, visando ao uso racional de hemoderivados. Foram verificados dados clínicos e demográficos dos pacientes, e avaliados o uso de hemoderivados e os desfechos clínicos no período intra-hospitalar, antes e após a implantação do protocolo. O protocolo consistiu em uma campanha institucional junto às equipes cirúrgicas, de anestesiologia e intensivistas, para difundir a prática do uso de hemoderivados com base em critérios clínicos objetivos (anemia com repercussões hemodinâmicas e disfunção ventricular significativa), bem como tornar rotineira a prescrição de ácido epsilon-aminocaproico no intraoperatório, que é prática recomendada por diretrizes internacionais baseadas em evidência científica. RESULTADOS: Após os 3 meses de implantação do protocolo, houve aumento do uso de ácido epsilon-aminocaproico de 31% para 100%. Antes da implantação do protocolo, 67% das cirurgias utilizaram alguma transfusão sanguínea; após a implantação, 40% das cirurgias necessitaram de alguma transfusão sanguínea nos meses subsequentes do mesmo ano (p<0,001). Não houve diferença significativa nos desfechos clínicos avaliados antes e após implantação do protocolo. CONCLUSÃO: O uso racional de hemoderivados, associado à infusão do ácido epsilon-aminocaproico, tem o potencial de reduzir o número de hemotransfusões no perioperatório de cirurgias cardíacas...

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac surgeries are sometimes followed by significant blood loss, and blood transfusions may be necessary. However, indiscriminant use of blood components can result in detrimental effects for the patient. We evaluated the short-term effects of implementation of a protocol for the rational use of blood products in the perioperative period of cardiac surgery. METHODS: Between April and June 2011, an institutional protocol was implemented in a private hospital specializing in cardiology to encourage rational use of blood products, with the consent and collaboration of seven cardiac surgery teams. We collected clinical and demographic data on the patients. The use of blood products and clinical outcomes were analyzed during hospital stay before and after protocol implementation. The protocol consisted of an institutional campaign with an educational intervention to surgical and anesthesiology teams; the goal was to tailor blood transfusion practice according to clinical goals (anemia with hemodynamic changes and significant ventricular dysfunction) and to make routine the prescription of å-aminocaproic acid intraoperatively, which is recommended by international guidelines based on scientific evidence. RESULTS: After three months of protocol implementation, the use of å-aminocaproic acid increased from 31% to 100%. A total of 67% of surgeries before protocol implementation required any blood transfusion, compared with 40% that required any blood transfusion after protocol implementation in subsequent months of the same year (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes assessed before and after implementation of the protocol. CONCLUSION: The rational use of blood products associated with infusion of å-aminocaproic acid has the potential to reduce the number of blood transfusions in perioperative of cardiac surgeries, but it can affect the risk of complications.

Comparação das vias radial e femoral nas intervenções coronárias percutâneas: resultados do registro TotalCor / Comparison of radial vs. femoral access in percutaneous coronary interventions: outcomes of the TotalCor registry

Introdução: A intervenção coronária percutânea (ICP) por via radial ainda é pouco utilizada em nosso meio. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a prevalência e os resultados da ICP por via radial, comparada à via femoral, em uma população do mundo real. Métodos: Registro unicêntrico, com 507 pacientes consecutivos submetidos a ICP pelas vias radial (n = 121) e femoral (n = 386), de acordo com a escolha do operador. Resultados: Os pacientes que utilizaram a via radial (23,9%) eram mais frequentemente do sexo masculino (78,5% vs. 69,9%; P = 0,07) e tabagistas (19,8% vs. 11,7%; P = 0,02), com maior prevalência de lesões uniarteriais (59,5% vs. 46,4%), tipo A/B1 (39% vs. 28,4%) e com função ventricular preservada (87,1% vs. 73%; P < 0,01). Nesse grupo foram utilizados stents de maior diâmetro e menor comprimento. O sucesso do procedimento foi elevado (97,3% vs. 96,3%; P = 0,56) e a incidência de óbito foi baixa, não diferindo entre os grupos (0,8% vs. 0,8%; P = 0,96), assim como as taxas de infarto do miocárdio (2,5% vs. 2,1%; P = 0,73). Não ocorreram revascularizações do vaso-alvo de urgência. Os pacientes tratados pela via radial permaneceram menos tempo internados (1 dia vs. 2 dias; P = 0,02) e não apresentaram complicações vasculares (0 vs. 3,4%; P = 0,045). Conclusões: A utilização da ICP por via radial representa o dobro da média nacional na instituição em que o estudo foi realizado, e a escolha de pacientes para essa técnica trouxe resultados do procedimento equivalentes aos da via femoral, nenhuma complicação vascular, e reduziu à metade o tempo de internação hospitalar.

BACKGROUND: In our country radial access is still underused in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and compare radial to femoral vascular access for PCI in a real-world population. METHODS: Single center registry, with 507 consecutive patients undergoing PCI by radial (n = 121) and femoral (n = 386) access, according to the operator's choice. RESULTS: Patients using radial access (23.9%) were more often male (78.5% vs. 69.9%; P = 0.07) and smokers (19.8% vs. 11.7%; P = 0.02), had a higher prevalence of single-vessel disease (59.5% vs. 46.4%), type A/B1 (39% vs. 28.4%) lesions and had preserved ventricular function (87.1% vs. 73%; P < 0.01). Larger diameter and shorter stents were used in this group. Procedure success was high (97.3% vs. 96.3%; P = 0.56), the incidence of death was low and was not different between groups (0.8% vs. 0.8%; P = 0.96), as well as myocardial infarction rates (2.5% vs. 2.1%; P = 0.73). There were no urgent target-vessel revascularizations. Patients treated by the radial approach had a shorter hospitalization period (1 day vs. 2 days; P = 0.02) and did not have vascular complications (0 vs. 3.4%; P = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: The use of radial access for PCI in our institution is twice the national average and the choice of patients for this technique provided similar results to those obtained by the femoral approach, no vascular complications and halved patients' average stay in hospital.