Psoas muscle quantified muscle status and long-term mortality after cardiovascular interventions.

RESULTS: In the meta-analysis, psoas muscle measurements were significantly associated with mortality among men (p < 0.05), with high heterogeneity in the associations across all cohorts. There was very little difference in the association between PMA and PMD and mortality (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-0.99, p = 0.002; HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77-0.94, p = 0.041 for one SD increase in PMA and PMD in the random effects model). Combining PMA and PMD into one composite variable by multiplying their values together showed the most robust association in terms of the magnitude of the effect size in men (HR, 0.77; 95% CI 0.73-0.87, p < 0.001). Indexing PMA to body size did not result in any significant differences in this association. Among women, psoas muscle measurements were not associated with long-term mortality in this meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Different psoas muscle measurements were significantly and very similarly associated with mortality among men but not among women. No single measurement stands out, although combining PMA and PMD seems to be a slightly stronger estimate in terms of effect size and should be considered in further studies.

Significant sarcopenia affecting survival in patients undergoing heavy invasive operations may be preoperatively assessed using images of psoas muscle (PM) from routine computerized tomography but the optimal method for evaluation is unclear. A meta-analysis of individual participant data of over two thousand patients undergoing cardiovascular interventions shows that different PM measurements of surface area and density were significantly and very similarly associated with mortality among men but not among women. Combining PM area with PM density to one estimate of lean psoas muscle area seems to provide the strongest hazard estimate among men.

Early postoperative statin administration does not affect the rate of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Postoperative atrial fibrillation is the most frequent complication after cardiac surgery, and the use of statins in preventing them is being extensively studied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a pause in the administration of statins affects the occurrence of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery in a prospective randomized and controlled setting. METHODS: A total of 301 patients without chronic atrial fibrillation with prior statin medication scheduled for elective or urgent cardiac surgery involving the coronary arteries and/or heart valves were prospectively recruited and randomized for statin re-initiation on either the first (immediate statin group) or the fifth (late statin group) postoperative day, using the original medication and dosage. The immediate statin group comprised 146 patients and the late statin group 155 patients. Except for a somewhat higher rate of males (85% vs 73%, P = 0.016) in the immediate statin group, the baseline characteristics and the distribution of procedures performed within the groups were comparable. The occurrence of postoperative atrial fibrillation and the clinical course of the patients were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The incidence of atrial fibrillation was 46% and the median delay after surgery before the onset of atrial fibrillation was 3 days in both groups (P = NS). No differences were observed in the frequency of the arrhythmia in any subgroup analyses or in other major complications or clinical parameters. No adverse effects related to early statin administration were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Early re-initiation of statins does not appear to affect the occurrence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT)-2016-001655-44.