Cardiac arrest in the perioperative period: a consensus guideline for identification, treatment, and prevention from the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac arrest in the operating room is a rare but potentially life-threatening event with mortality rates of more than 50%. Contributing factors are often known, and the event is recognised rapidly as patients are usually under full monitoring. This guideline covers the perioperative period and is complementary to the European Resuscitation Council guidelines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery jointly nominated a panel of experts to develop guidelines for the recognition, treatment, and prevention of cardiac arrest in the perioperative period. A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. All searches were restricted to publications from 1980 to 2019 inclusive and to the English, French, Italian and Spanish languages. The authors also contributed individual, independent literature searches. RESULTS: This guideline contains background information and recommendation for the treatment of cardiac arrest in the operating room environment, and addresses controversial topics such as open chest cardiac massage, resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion and resuscitative thoracotomy, pericardiocentesis, needle decompression, and thoracostomy. CONCLUSIONS: Successful prevention and management of cardiac arrest during anaesthesia and surgery requires anticipation, early recognition, and a clear treatment plan. The ready availability of expert staff and equipment must also be taken into consideration. Success not only depends on medical knowledge, technical skills and a well-organised team using crew resource management, but also on an institutional safety culture embedded in everyday practice through continuous education, training, and multidisciplinary co-operation.

Cardiac arrest in the perioperative period: a consensus guideline for identification, treatment, and prevention from the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac arrest in the operating room is a rare but potentially life-threatening event with mortality rates of more than 50%. Contributing factors are often known, and the event is recognised rapidly as patients are usually under full monitoring. This guideline covers the perioperative period and is complementary to the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery jointly nominated a panel of experts to develop guidelines for the recognition, treatment and prevention of cardiac arrest in the perioperative period. A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. All searches were restricted to publications from 1980 to 2019 inclusive and to the English, French, Italian and Spanish languages. The authors also contributed individual, independent literature searches. RESULTS: This guideline contains background information and recommendation for the treatment of cardiac arrest in the operating room environment, and addresses controversial topics such as open chest cardiac massage (OCCM), resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion (REBOA) and resuscitative thoracotomy, pericardiocentesis, needle decompression and thoracostomy. CONCLUSION: Successful prevention and management of cardiac arrest during anaesthesia and surgery requires anticipation, early recognition and a clear treatment plan. The ready availability of expert staff and equipment must also be taken into consideration. Success not only depends on medical knowledge, technical skills and a well organised team using crew resource management but also on an institutional safety culture embedded in everyday practice through continuous education, training and multidisciplinary co-operation.

Reoperation for bleeding after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative cardio-surgical haemostatic management is centre-specific and experience-based, which leads to a variability in patient care. This study aimed to identify which postoperative haemostatic interventions may reduce the need for reoperation after cardiac surgery in adults. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study in a tertiary centre. Adult, elective, primary cardiac surgical patients were selected (n = 2098); cases (n = 42) were patients who underwent reoperation within 72 h after the initial surgery. Interventions administered to control surgical bleeding were compared for the need to re-operate using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Rate of cardiac surgical reoperation was 2% in the study population. Three variables were found to be associated with cardiac reoperation: preoperative administration of fresh frozen plasma (OR 5.45, CI 2.34-12.35), cumulative volume of chest tube drainage and cumulative count of packed red blood cells transfusion on ICU (OR 1.98, CI 1.56-2.51). CONCLUSION: No significant difference among specific types of postoperative haemostatic interventions was found between patients who needed reoperation and those who did not. Perioperative transfusion of fresh frozen plasma, postoperative transfusion of packed cells and cumulative volume of chest tube drainage were associated with reoperation after cardiac surgery. These variables could help predict the need for reoperation.

Afterload Mismatch After MitraClip Implantation: Intraoperative Assessment and Prognostic Implications.

AIM: To evaluate the acute hemodynamic effects after MitraClip implantation and to identify predictors of afterload mismatch and its prognostic implications. METHODS: Acute hemodynamic effects were assessed intraoperatively by right heart catheterization and by transesophageal echocardiography before and after MitraClip implantation in 62 consecutive patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) (functional MR, 73.8%; EuroScore 2, 7.1 ± 4.9%; left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF], 36 ± 15%; New York Heart Association class III/IV, 65%). Afterload mismatch was defined as a >15% decrease in LVEF (acute LV depression) or a >15% increase in LV end-diastolic volume (acute adverse LV remodeling). Patients were followed over a period of 24 months (mean, 18 ± 3 months) with all-cause mortality as the primary endpoint. RESULTS: Successful MitraClip implantation with residual MR ≤2 was achieved in 85% of patients. Acute LV depression was observed in 23% of patients, and acute adverse LV remodeling was observed in 15% of patients. Acute adverse LV remodeling occurred in 40% of patients with EuroScores >12 vs in 10% of patients with EuroScores ≤12 (P=.02). Although acute adverse LV remodeling was well tolerated in the acute phase, it was associated with a higher mortality rate during follow-up (62% vs 26%; log-rank P=.04). In a multivariate model, EuroScore 2, but not afterload mismatch, was the most important prognostic risk factor, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.2). CONCLUSION: Afterload mismatch, as assessed intraoperatively, is not uncommon after MitraClip implantation in patients with impaired LV function and is a risk marker of poor clinical outcome.

Implementation of an Enhanced Recovery Pathway for Minimally Invasive Pectus Surgery: A Population-Based Cohort Study Evaluating Short- and Long-Term Outcomes Using eHealth Technology.

BACKGROUND: Pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum are the most common chest wall deformities. Although minimally invasive correction (minimally invasive repair of pectus, MIRP) has become common practice, it remains associated with severe postoperative pain. Preoperative psychosocial factors such as anxiety and low self-esteem can increase postsurgical pain. Early detection of psychological symptoms, effective biopsychosocial perioperative management of patients, and prevention of pain chronification using an enhanced recovery pathway (ERP) may improve outcomes. However, the incidence of the latter is poorly described in adolescents undergoing MIRP. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the implementation of an ERP containing early recovery goals and to assess persistent postsurgical pain 3 months postoperatively in pediatric patients undergoing MIRP. The ERP consists of a Web-based platform containing psychological screening questionnaires and extensive telemonitoring for follow-up of patients at home. METHODS: A population-based cohort study was conducted with prospectively collected data from patients undergoing pectus surgery between June 2017 and December 2017. An ERP was initiated preoperatively; it included patient education, electronic health-based psychological screening, multimodal pre-emptive analgesia, nausea prophylaxis as well as early Foley catheter removal and respiratory exercises. After hospital discharge, patients were followed up to 10 weeks using a Web-based diary evaluating pain and sleep quality, while their rehabilitation progress was monitored via Bluetooth-connected telemonitoring devices. RESULTS: We enrolled 29 adolescents using the developed ERP. Pre-emptive multimodal analgesia pain rating scores were low at hospital admission. Optimal epidural placement, defined by T8-9 or T9-10, occurred in 90% (26/29) of the participants; thus, no motor block or Horner syndrome occurred. Mean bladder catheterization duration was 3.41 (SD 1.50) days in ERP patients. Numeric rating scale (NRS) scores for pain and the incidence of nausea were low, contributing to a fluent rehabilitation. Mean NRS scores were 2.58 (SD 1.77) on postoperative day (POD) 1, 2.48 (SD 1.66) on POD 2, and 3.14 (SD 1.98) on POD 3 in ERP-treated patients. Telemonitoring at home was feasible in adolescents after hospital discharge despite adherence difficulties. Although the pain scores at the final interview were low (0.81 [SD 1.33]), 33% (9/27) long-term follow-up ERP patients still experienced frequent disturbing thoracic pain, requiring analgesic administration, school absenteeism, and multiple doctor (re)visits. CONCLUSIONS: Allocating patients to the appropriate level of care preoperatively and immediately postoperatively may improve long-term outcome variables. Internet-based technologies and feasible, objective monitoring tools can help clinicians screen surgical patients for risk factors and initiate early treatment when indicated. Future research should focus on improving risk stratification and include a psychological assessment and evaluation of the effect of perioperative care pathways in children undergoing major surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03100669; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03100669 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/72qLB1ADX).

Introducing TOPMAST, the first double-blind randomized clinical trial specifically dedicated to perioperative maintenance fluid therapy in adults.

BACKGROUND: Although prescribed to every patient undergoing surgery, maintenance fluid therapy is a poorly researched part of perioperative fluid therapy. The tonicity of the chosen solutions, could be an important cause of morbidity, with hyponatremia being a potential side effect of hypotonic solutions, where isotonic solution could lead to fluid overload. METHODS: The TOPMAST-trial is an ongoing prospective single-center double-blind randomized trial comparing an isotonic and a hypotonic maintenance fluid strategy during and after surgery in patients undergoing different types of major thoracic surgery. Patients receive NaCl 0.9% in glucose 5% with an added 40 mmol L-1 of potassium chloride or a premixed solution containing 54 mmol L-1 sodium, 55 mmol L-1 chloride and 26 mmol of potassium at a rate of 27 mL per kg of body weight per day. The primary hypothesis is that isotonic maintenance solutions cause a more positive perioperative fluid balance than hypotonic fluids. Different secondary safety endpoints will be explored, especially the effect of the study treatments on the occurrence electrolyte disturbances (e.g. hyponatremia, hyperchloremia) and a set of clinical endpoints. Efficacy endpoints include the need for resuscitation fluids and assessment of renal and hormonal adaptive mechanisms. An anticipated 68 patients will be included between March 2017 and January 2018. DISCUSSION: The study will provide the most comprehensive evaluation of clinically important outcomes associated with the choice of perioperative maintenance fluid therapy.