Cardiac Enhanced Recovery Program Implementation and Its Effect on Opioid Administration in Adult Cardiac Surgery.

In light of the worsening opioid epidemic and nationwide parenteral opioid shortage, our institution created an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol. Our objective was to evaluate our initial experience transitioning to ERAS in cardiac surgery. An institutional cardiac ERAS protocol was implemented in April 2018, consisting of opioid-sparing analgesia, liberalization of fasting and activity restrictions, and goal-directed standardization of perioperative care. Clinical outcomes, opioid administration, and pain scores of patients undergoing nonemergent cardiac surgery were reviewed from March 2017 to July 2018. Patients were propensity score matched into pre-ERAS and transition-to-ERAS (t-ERAS) cohorts and compared by univariate analysis. Of 467 patients, 236 patients were well-matched (118 per cohort). The transition to ERAS resulted in a 79% reduction in morphine equivalents through postoperative day 1 (359.3 mg pre-ERAS vs 75.4 mg ERAS, P < 0.0001). Despite less opioid utilization, t-ERAS patients reported lower pain scores (median 4.88 vs 4.14, P = 0.011). There was no difference in mortality (2% vs 0%, P = 0.498) or postoperative complications including initial hours ventilated (5.3 vs 5.2 hours, P = 0.380), prolonged ventilation (9.3% vs 6.8%, P = 0.473), renal failure (3.4% vs 2.5%, P = 0.701), and ICU length of stay (58.3 vs 70.4 hours, P = 0.272). The transition to cardiac ERAS resulted in significantly reduced opioid administration and improved patient pain scores while maintaining excellent outcomes. Well-supported, multidisciplinary teams of cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, and intensivists can dramatically reduce opioid use without sacrificing pain control or excellent clinical outcomes.

Discordance among assays for monitoring? Anticoagulation during extracorporeal life support.

OBJECTIVES: The optimal method for monitoring of anticoagulation in patients on extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between anti-factor Xa level (anti-Xa; IU/mL) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT; seconds) for monitoring intravenous unfractionated heparin anticoagulation in adult ECLS patients. METHODS: Charts of all adult patients cannulated for ECLS from 2015 through 2017 were reviewed and laboratory and heparin infusion data were extracted for analysis. Time matched pairs of anti-Xa and aPTT were considered concordant if both laboratory values were within the same clinically utilized range. A hierarchical logistic regression model was used to determine factors associated with discordance while accounting for patient level effects. RESULTS: A total of 1016 paired anti-Xa and aPTT values from 65 patients were evaluated. 500 (49.2%) paired samples were discordant with a degree of variability on linear regression (r2 = 0.315). The aPTT fell into a higher therapeutic range compared to the anti-Xa in 31.6% and lower in 17.3%. Logistic regression demonstrated that discordance was independently associated with time from initiation of ECLS (OR 1.17 per day, p < 0.001), average heparin infusion rate (OR 1.25 per U/kg/hr, p < 0.001), and INR (OR 3.22, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of all aPTT and anti-Xa values were in discordant ranges and discordance is more likely as the time on ECLS and the INR level increase. The use of either assay in isolation to guide heparin anticoagulation may lead to misestimation of the degree of anticoagulation in complex ECLS patients.

Porcine Model of Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

Large animal models to study abdominal aortic aneurysms are sparse. The purpose of this model is to create reproducible, clinically significant infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in swine. To achieve this, we use a combination of balloon angioplasty, elastase and collagenase, and a lysyl oxidase inhibitor, called ß-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), to create clinically significant infrarenal aortic aneurysms, analogous to human disease. Noncastrated male swine are fed BAPN for 7 days prior to surgery to achieve a steady state in the blood. A midline laparotomy is performed and the infrarenal aorta is circumferentially dissected. An initial measurement is recorded prior to aneurysm induction with a combination of balloon angioplasty, elastase (500 units)/collagenase (8000 units) perfusion, and topical elastase application. Swine are fed BAPN daily until terminal procedure on either postoperative day 7, 14, or 28, at which time the aneurysm is measured, and tissue procured. BAPN + surgery pigs are compared to pigs that underwent surgery alone. Swine treated with BAPN and surgery had a mean aortic dilation of 89.9% ± 47.4% at day 7, 105.4% ± 58.1% at day 14, and 113.5% ± 30.2% at day 28. Pigs treated with surgery alone had significantly smaller aneurysms compared to BAPN + surgery animals at day 28 (p < 0.0003). The BAPN + surgery group had macroscopic and immunohistochemical evidence of end stage aneurysmal disease. Clinically significant infrarenal AAA can be induced using balloon angioplasty, elastase/collagenase perfusion and topical application, supplemented with oral BAPN. This model creates large, clinically significant AAA with hallmarks of human disease. This has important implications for the elucidation of AAA pathogenesis and testing of novel therapies and devices for the treatment of AAA. Limitations of the model include variation in BAPN ingested by swine, quality of elastase perfusion, and cost of BAPN.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery is associated with excellent resource utilization, cost, and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (mini-MVR) has numerous associated benefits. However, many studies fail to include greater-risk patients. We hypothesized that a minimally invasive approach in a representative cohort provides excellent outcomes with reduced resource utilization. METHODS: Mitral valve surgical records from 2011 to 2016 were paired with institutional financial records. Patients were stratified by approach and propensity-score matched to balance preoperative difference. The primary outcomes of interest were resource utilization including cost, discharge to a facility, and readmission. RESULTS: A total of 478 patients underwent mitral surgery (21% mini-MVR) and were balanced after matching (n = 74 per group), with 18% of patients having nondegenerative mitral disease. Outcomes were excellent with similar rates of major morbidity (9.5% mini-MVR vs 10.8% conventional, P = .78). Mini-MVR cases had lower rates of transfusion (11% vs 27%, P = .01) and shorter ventilator times (3.7 vs 6.0 hours, P < .0001). Mean total hospital cost was equivalent ($49,703 vs $54,970, P = .235) with mini-MVR having lower ancillary ($1645 vs $2652, P = .001) and blood costs ($383 vs $1058, P = .001). These savings were offset by longer surgical times (291 vs 234 minutes, P < .0001) with greater surgical ($7645 vs $7293, P = .0001) and implant costs ($1148 vs $748, P = .03). Rates of discharge to a facility (9.6% vs 16.2%) and readmission (9.6% vs 4.1%) were not statistically different. CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world cohort, mini-MVR continues to demonstrate excellent results with a favorable resource utilization profile. Greater surgical and implant costs with mini-MVR are offset by decreased transfusions and ancillary needs leading to equivalent overall hospital cost.