Validation of the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation-II model in an urban Indian population and comparison with three other risk scoring systems.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims were to compare the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE)-II system against three established risk scoring systems for predictive accuracy in an urban Indian population and suggest improvements or amendments in the existing scoring system for adaptation in Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EuroSCORE-II, Parsonnet score, System-97 score, and Cleveland score were obtained preoperatively for 1098 consecutive patients. EuroSCORE-II system was analyzed in comparison to each of the above three scoring systems in an urban Indian population. Calibrations of scoring systems were assessed using Hosmer-Lemeshow test. Areas under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were compared according to the statistical approach suggested by Hanley and McNeil. RESULTS: All EuroSCORE-II subgroups had highly significant P values stating good predictive mortality, except high-risk group (P = 0.175). The analysis of ROC curves of different scoring systems showed that the highest predictive value for mortality was calculated for the System-97 score followed by the Cleveland score. System-97 revealed extremely high predictive accuracies across all subgroups (curve area >80%). This difference in predictive accuracy was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that the EuroSCORE-II model in its present form is not validated for use in the Indian population. An interesting observation was significantly accurate predictive abilities of the System-97 score.

Aortic dissection: to be or not to be?

Patients with acute aortic dissection present with such varied symptoms that diagnosis becomes difficult. Various imaging techniques like computed tomography angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography are used to diagnose this entity, but they too have their limitations. We present a case, which was falsely diagnosed as acute aortic dissection by CTA, which resulted in patient undergoing sternotomy.

Acute renal dysfunction: time from coronary angiography to cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of acute renal dysfunction has not changed much over the years, despite improvements in perioperative care. Our objectives were to evaluate the impact of timing of cardiac surgery after coronary angiography on acute renal dysfunction, to identify risk factors associated with development of acute renal dysfunction, and to measure the association between acute renal dysfunction and mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients were divided into 3 groups: group A (cardiac surgery 0-3 days after angiography), group B (surgery 4-6 days after angiography), and group C (surgery > 6 days after angiography). Endpoints were acute renal dysfunction, defined as serum creatinine > 25% of baseline on the 3rd postoperative day, and mortality. RESULTS: In 749 patients, the incidence of acute renal dysfunction was 15%; 5% required dialysis. Hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ejection fraction < 40%, prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time, intraaortic balloon pump use, and urgent surgery were risk factors for acute renal dysfunction after cardiac surgery. Patients in group C had a lower risk of acute renal dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Acute renal dysfunction has a definite relationship with the time period between angiography and cardiac surgery. The causative factors for this condition are multiple and also show a consistent association with mortality.

Transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosis of inadvertant closure of inferior vena cava opening during minimally invasive atrial septal defect closure.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used in cardiac surgery. TEE provides important diagnostic and functional information before and after cardiopulmonary bypass thereby having a very important impact on perioperative clinical outcomes. We describe a case in which intraoperative TEE was instrumental in the timely diagnosis of inadvertant closure of the inferior vena cava (IVC) opening during minimally invasive surgical closure of atrial septal defect.