Intranasal mupirocin reduces sternal wound infection after open heart surgery in diabetics and nondiabetics.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine whether decreasing nasal bacterial colonization by applying Mupirocin (MPN) intranasally decreases sternal wound infections. METHODS: We prospectively followed 992 consecutive open heart surgery (OHS) patients who did not receive MPN prophylaxis (group I) from January 1, 1995 to October 31, 1996. Group II consisted of 854 consecutive patients followed prospectively from December 1, 1997 to March 31, 1999 treated with intranasal MPN given on the evening before, the morning of OHS, and twice daily for 5 days postoperatively. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the rate of overall sternal wound infections between the untreated (group I) and the treated group (group II): 2.7% (27 of 992) versus 0.9% (8 of 854) (p = 0.005). The difference was also significant in the diabetic subgroup: 5.1% (14 of 277) (group I) versus 1.9% (5 of 266) (group II) (p = 0.04) and the nondiabetic group: 1.8% (13 of 715) (group I) versus 0.5% (3 of 588) (group II) (p = 0.03). The cost of MPN treatment was $12.47 per patient compared with $81,018 +/- $41,567 for a deep wound infection with no antibiotic-related complications recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic intranasal MPN is safe, inexpensive, and very effective in reducing the overall sternal wound infections by 66.6%.

Minimal operative mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass with significant left ventricular dysfunction by maximization of metabolic and mechanical support.

Between January 1, 1992, and January 23, 1996, 111 consecutive patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. The ejection fraction in these patients ranged from 10% to 34% (mean 27.9% +/- 5.4%); in 18 patients the value was less than 20%. The high operative mortality rate (7.6% in Society of Thoracic Surgeons database) in this group of patients at high risk was targeted for reduction by provision of, in addition to the usual inotropic support, progressively more intensive metabolic and mechanical support. The metabolic support consisted of triiodothyronine; glucose, insulin, and potassium; aspartate/glutamate in the cardioplegic solution; and warm-cold-warm/antegrade-retrograde-antegrade cardioplegia. Mechanical support included liberal use of the intraaortic balloon pump, use of a new occlusive retrograde cardioplegia catheter, ultrafiltration to remove myocardial depressant factors, and, finally, delayed sternal closure. The operative mortality rate was 1.8% (2/111). Complications included reoperation because of bleeding (3.6%, 4/111), mediastinitis (1.8%, 2/111), and stroke (0.9%, 1/111) and there were no occurrences of new postoperative acute renal failure (0.0%, 0/111). The intensive care unit stay was 2.2 +/- 0.9 days with a length of stay in the hospital of 13.7 +/- 22.1 days. These techniques done before operation, intraoperatively, and postoperatively optimize the milieu of the depressed left ventricle by maximizing perioperative high-energy phosphate bonds; increasing the effectiveness of inotropic agents; unloading the left ventricle by chemical, metabolic, and mechanical support; and removing known myocardial depressant factors, which reduced the operative mortality rate to 1.8% compared with 7.6% as reported in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons' database.

Arterial insufficiency in hemodialysis access procedures: reconstruction by an interposition polytetrafluoroethylene graft conduit.

The interposition polytetrafluoroethylene graft conduit has found many uses in the armamentarium of the surgeon who performs vascular access for hemodialysis: when resection of aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm is required, or when an extension loop is required, either to simply lengthen the amount of graft or to circumvent an infected segment after resection. Herein, we have presented yet another use for the interposition polytetrafluoroethylene graft conduit, based on physiologically sound principles and a now proved successful outcome, namely as a surgical alternative for the patient with a hemodynamically unstable hemodialysis fistula resulting in arterial insufficiency. Poiseuille's Law regarding flow of liquids through a tube supports the concept on which our interposition graft is based: v = pi X P X R4/8 X 1 X n where v is the volume escaping per second, P the difference of pressure at the ends of the tube, R its radius, l the length of the tube, and n the coefficient of viscosity. Given the maintenance of all other parameters, if one increases the length of the tube through which blood is flowing, the volume of flow through said tube is simultaneously decreased, and the ischemic symptoms caused by arterial insufficiency are thereby ameliorated.