Hypotension prediction index guided versus conventional goal directed therapy to reduce intraoperative hypotension during thoracic surgery: a randomized trial.

PURPOSE: Intraoperative hypotension is linked to increased incidence of perioperative adverse events such as myocardial and cerebrovascular infarction and acute kidney injury. Hypotension prediction index (HPI) is a novel machine learning guided algorithm which can predict hypotensive events using high fidelity analysis of pulse-wave contour. Goal of this trial is to determine whether use of HPI can reduce the number and duration of hypotensive events in patients undergoing major thoracic procedures. METHODS: Thirty four patients undergoing esophageal or lung resection were randomized into 2 groups -"machine learning algorithm" (AcumenIQ) and "conventional pulse contour analysis" (Flotrac). Analyzed variables were occurrence, severity and duration of hypotensive events (defined as a period of at least one minute of MAP below 65 mmHg), hemodynamic parameters at 9 different timepoints interesting from a hemodynamics viewpoint and laboratory (serum lactate levels, arterial blood gas) and clinical outcomes (duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU and hospital stay, occurrence of adverse events and in-hospital and 28-day mortality). RESULTS: Patients in the AcumenIQ group had significantly lower area below the hypotensive threshold (AUT, 2 vs 16.7 mmHg x minutes) and time-weighted AUT (TWA, 0.01 vs 0.08 mmHg). Also, there were less patients with hypotensive events and cumulative duration of hypotension in the AcumenIQ group. No significant difference between groups was found in terms of laboratory and clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodynamic optimization guided by machine learning algorithm leads to a significant decrease in number and duration of hypotensive events compared to traditional goal directed therapy using pulse-contour analysis hemodynamic monitoring in patients undergoing major thoracic procedures. Further, larger studies are needed to determine true clinical utility of HPI guided hemodynamic monitoring. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Date of first registration: 14/11/2022 Registration number: 04729481-3a96-4763-a9d5-23fc45fb722d.

Red Cell Distribution Width in Acute Pulmonary Embolism Patients Improves 30-Day Mortality Risk Stratification Based on the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index.

PURPOSE: To validate red cell distribution width (RDW) as an improvement in 30-day mortality risk stratification based on the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective observational analysis of consecutive adult acute PE patients. RESULTS: Among 731 patients, 30-day mortality was 11.9%. With adjustment for the PESI score and number of covariates, higher RDW was associated with higher mortality (RDW continuous: OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.38; Bayesian OR 1.22, 1.07-1.40; RDW 'high' [>14.5% in men >16.1% in women] vs normal: OR 3.83, 1.98-7.46; Bayesian OR 3.98, 2.04-7.68]. Crude mortality was 3.6% if PESI 86-105 (intermediate risk), but 1.2% if RDW normal and 7.1% if RDW high; 11.8% if PESI 106-125 (high risk), but 3.6% if RDW normal and 18.8% if RDW high. Adjusted probabilities showed higher mortality (ORs between 3.5-5.8) if RDW was high in any PESI risk subgroup. Crude mortality rates in two random-split subsets (n=365 and n=366) again showed the same patterns. CONCLUSIONS: On-admission RDW above the normal range improves 30-day mortality risk stratification based on PESI score in acute PE. Particularly, it corrects PESI-based intermediate-risk or high-risk allocation by reclassification into very low-risk (<3.5%) or very high-risk (>11.0%).

Patients with dementia and atrial fibrillation less frequently receive direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and experience higher thrombotic and mortality risk.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in clinical presentation, anticoagulation pattern and outcomes in patients with dementia and atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: A total of 1217 hospitalized patients with non-valvular AF from two institutions were retrospectively evaluated. Diagnosis of dementia was established by a psychiatrist or a neurologist prior to or during hospitalization. Adequacy of warfarin anticoagulation was assessed during follow-up using at least 10 standardized international ratio values. In addition to unmatched comparison, nested case-control study was performed to further evaluate differences in clinical outcomes between patients with and without dementia. RESULTS: A total of 162/1217 (13.3%) patients were diagnosed with dementia. Among other associations, patients with dementia were significantly older with higher number of comorbidities, had lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), (P < 0.05 for all analyses). Patients with dementia were significantly less likely to receive direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs; 27.2% vs 40.3%; P = 0.001) and were significantly more likely to be inadequately anticoagulated with warfarin (38.9% vs 28.6%; P = 0.008) than patients without dementia. After matching based on age, eGFR, LVEF, and CHA2DS2-VASC patients with dementia were significantly more likely to experience inferior overall survival (HR = 1.8; P = 0.001) and shorter time to thrombosis (HR = 2.3; P = 0.019). CONCLUSION: Our findings speak in support of increased thrombotic and mortality risks in patients with dementia, possibly due to inadequate anticoagulation and higher number of comorbidities.