[Preoperative risk assessment of patients with congenital heart disease in non-cardiac surgery].

Over the last decades, remarkable advances in survival in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) have been reported. Currently, 90% of infants born with CHD can expect to reach adulthood. Moderate and severe CHD is associated with increased perioperative mortality. To ensure optimal management of CHD patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, preoperative risk assessment is pivotal, along with a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration across hospitals. The objective of this review is to provide a simple model to identify CHD patients at risk prior to non-cardiac surgery.

[Drowning-induced hyperfibrinolytic disseminated intravascular coagulation].

This article summarizes the current knowledge of drowning-induced hyperfibrinolytic disseminated intravascular coagulation. Drowning induces respiratory failure with ensuing cardiac arrest, hypoxaemia and ischaemia. A coagulopathy is induced by ischaemia, acidosis and hypothermia, and clinically the patient develops uncontrolled bleeding due to hyperfibrinolysis. A rapid diagnostic approach is required to recognize this hyperfibrinolytic state, since initiation of treatment with antifibrinolytics and fibrinogen concentrate may bring this life-threatening condition to cessation.

A successful model to learn and implement ultrasound-guided venous catheterization in apheresis.

BACKGROUND: Apheresis treatments can be performed with peripheral venous catheters (PVC), although central venous catheters (CVC) are inserted when PVCs fail or patient with history of difficult vascular access prior to the apheresis. Ultrasound guidance for PVC has shown promising results in other settings. PURPOSE: To investigate if ultrasound guidance for PVC could be implemented among apheresis nurses. Second, how implementation of ultrasound guidance affected the number of CVCs used for apheresis per patient. METHOD: Apheresis nurses completed a systematic training program for ultrasound-guided vascular access. All independent catheterizations were registered during the implementation stage. The number of CVCs in the pre- and postimplementation stages of the ultrasound guidance was compared. RESULTS: Six nurses completed the training program within a median of 48 days (range 38-83 days). In 77 patients, 485 independent ultrasound-guided PVC placements were performed during the implementation stage. All apheresis treatments (485/485) were accomplished using PVCs without requiring CVC as rescue. During the preimplementation stage, 125 of 273 (45.8%) procedures required a CVC for completion of apheresis procedures; during the postimplementation stage only 30 of 227 (13.2%) procedures required a CVC (p < 0.001). In the postimplementation stage, no CVCs were placed as rescue caused by failed PVCs but were only placed for patients where the ultrasound machine was unavailable. It indicates an effective success rate of 100% for ultrasound-guided PVC use. CONCLUSION: This study showed that ultrasound guidance could be implemented among apheresis nurses as a routine tool eliminating the need of CVC as a rescue.

Change in hemostatic intervention after implementation of thromboelastometry.

OBJECTIVE: To monitor the use of blood products and hemostatic intervention after implementation of thromboelastometry. DESIGN: Observational prospective study using a historic control. SETTING: Single-center university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery during 2008 (n = 811) were compared with similar patients in 2009 (n = 865). INTERVENTIONS: Thromboelastometry was implemented in December 2008. Changes in transfusion of blood products and changes in use of recombinant factor VIIa and fibrinogen were studied. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Use of blood products was not decreased significantly after implementation of thromboelastometry. However, in patients receiving blood products, the units of red blood cells were decreased significantly (p = 0.04). Regarding hemostatic reagents, the use of recombinant factor VIIa was decreased significantly (p = 0.04), and the use of fibrinogen increased significantly (p < 0.001). Most blood products (>70%) were given to a minority of patients (∼10%) in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, thromboelastometry was performed in 146 patients (17%), and the use of blood products (p < 0.0001), recombinant factor VIIa (p < 0.001), and fibrinogen (p < 0.001) was significantly higher compared with patients in whom thromboelastometry was not performed. CONCLUSIONS: After implementation of thromboelastometry, the use of recombinant factor VIIa was decreased significantly, whereas the use of blood products was not decreased significantly in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Transfusion of shed mediastinal blood reduces the use of allogenic blood transfusion without increasing complications.

BACKGROUND: Reduced use of allogenic blood components is a key issue in cardiac surgery. Several methods to conserve blood have been used; reinfusion of shed mediastinal blood (RSMB) has found widespread acceptance, but the efficacy and safety are still debated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of RSMB on the use of allogenic blood components and selected complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six hundred and twenty-three consecutive cardiac surgery patients in three successive periods, of whom patients in the middle period did not receive RSMB due to manufacturer delivery problems, were evaluated. Patients and procedures were characterized by EuroSCORE. Prospective collected data were: units of transfused allogenic blood, fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and platelets, postoperative blood loss and postoperative complications such as dialysis, re-operation due to bleeding, sternal infection and stroke. Length of stay in ICU was used as a general indicator of perioperative complications. RESULTS: The number of patients receiving allogenic blood in periods with RSMB was significantly lower (36.5% versus 54.9%, p<0.005), while no difference was seen in FFP and platelets. The average number of transfused blood units was lower in patients receiving RSMB (2.07 versus 3.41, p=0.029), while FFP (1.34 versus 2.01, p=0.11) and platelets (0.58 versus 0.95, p=0.05) were not statistically significantly different. Postoperative bleeding was lower (759 versus 967 ml, p=0.032) in the periods with RSMB. CONCLUSION: Patients receiving RSMB were less transfused with allogenic blood and had less postoperative drainage, while the frequency of observed postoperative complications was not different from patients who did not receive RSMB.

Transfusion requirements in 811 patients during and after cardiac surgery: a prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify patients at risk for intra- and postoperative blood product transfusion in a mixed adult cardiac surgical patient population. DESIGN: A prospective, observational study. SETTING: A single-center university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (n = 811) undergoing cardiac surgery from January 1, 2008, to November 30, 2008. INTERVENTIONS: The outcome in terms of transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and/or pooled platelets within the first 24 hours after surgery was studied. Pre- and perioperative risk factors for bleeding and transfusion of blood products were studied. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The majority of RBCs and FFP (>70%) were given to a minority of patients (<12%). The type of surgical procedure, previous cardiac surgery, and emergency operations were all significantly associated with the transfusion of RBCs, FFP, and platelets. Antithrombotic therapy was not significantly associated with the transfusion requirement in the mixed group of cardiac patients. However, in the low-risk procedures such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery, ongoing antithrombotic therapy at the time of the operation significantly increased the risk of transfusion in this otherwise low-risk category of surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of high-risk patients is necessary to optimize the perioperative management of bleeding complications. Because of the high variability in transfusion requirements, a specifically tailored patient intervention based on the individual's risk profile appears more likely to improve patient outcome compared with general interventions given to the entire patient group.

Practical regimen for amiodarone use in preventing postoperative atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative atrial fibrillation occurs in 5% to 65% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Although postoperative atrial fibrillation is often regarded as a temporary, benign, operation-related problem, it is associated with a twofold to threefold increase in risk of adverse events, including permanent or transient stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and death. METHODS: This randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial included 250 eligible consecutively enrolled patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). They received 300 mg of amiodarone/placebo administered intravenously over 20 minutes on the first postoperative day and an oral dose of 600 mg of amiodarone or placebo twice daily for the first 5 postoperative days. RESULTS: The patients in amiodarone prophylaxis experienced a reduction in risk of atrial fibrillation of 14% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.0% to 24%), with the number needed to treat at 6.9 (95% CI, 4.2 to 20), and the results for symptomatic atrial fibrillation showed a risk reduction of 18% (95% CI, 9.4% to 26), with the number needed to treat at 5.7 (95% CI, 3.9 to 11). Of the patients who developed atrial fibrillation in the placebo group, 84% experienced a symptomatic attack versus only 43% in the amiodarone group. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative prophylaxis with a high dose of oral amiodarone after an intravenous bolus infusion is a safe, practical, feasible, and effective regimen for CABG patients. It significantly diminishes the occurrence of postoperative atrial fibrillation.