Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of dexmedetomidine for postoperative sedation in cardiac patients. Methods Such databases as PubMed, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched electronically from the date of their establishment to May 2012, and other relevant journals and references of the included literature were also searched manually. Two reviewers independently screened the studies in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed methodology quality. Then the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1software. Results A total of 8 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1 157 patients were included. The Jadad scores of 7 RCTs were more than 3, and only 1 RCT scored 2. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with the control group, dexmedetomidine significantly raised peripheral oxygen saturation (RR=0.90, 95%CI 0.31 to 0.49, P=0.003), decreased the incidence of average heart rate (RR=–5.86, 95%CI –7.31 to −4.40, Plt;0.000 01), ventricular tachycardia (RR=0.27, 95%CI 0.08 to 0.88, P=0.03), delirium (RR=0.28, 95%CI 0.16 to 0.48, Plt;0.000 01) and postoperative hyperglycemia (RR=0.57, 95%CI 0.38 to 0.85, P=0.006), and reduced the number of patients who needed vasoactive agents such as epinephrine (RR=0.53, 95%CI 0.29 to 0.96, P=0.04) and β-blocker (RR=0.60, 95%CI 0.38 to 0.94, P=0.03). However, it failed to shorten the time of both ICU stay (RR=−1.24, 95%CI −4.35 to 1.87, P=0.43) and mechanical ventilation (RR=−2.28, 95%CI −5.13 to 0.57, P=0.12), increase mean artery pressure (RR=−2.78, 95%CI −6.89 to 1.34, P=0.19), and well control postoperative nausea, vomiting and atrial-fibrillation. There were no significant differences between the two groups in myocardial infarction, acute cardiac failure, acute kidney failure, and mortality rate. Conclusion For postoperative sedation in cardiac patients, dexmedetomidine can effectively stabilize hemodynamic indexes, and reduce tachycardia, delirium, postoperative hyperglycemia and vasoactive agents. However, it has no marked influence on the prognosis. For the quantity and quality limitation of included studies, this conclusion needs to be proved by performing more high quality and large sample RCTs.
Objective To analyze the risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia( VAP) in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass ( CPB) . Methods A total of 127 consecutive adult patients who received postoperative ventilation for more than 48 hours between January 2002 and June 2008 in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit( CSICU) were included in this study. The patients were assigned into a VAPgroup( n =64) and a control group( n = 63) . Pre-, intra-, and postoperative factors were collected and analyzed between two groups, and the multivariate analysis( logistic regression)were used to identify the risk factors of VAP. Results The overall incidence of VAP was 5.1%. The mortality of VAP was 28. 1% . Compared to the control group, the patients in the VAP group had longer duration of cardiopulmonary bypass time, ventilation time, more blood products usage and the duration of stay in CSICU( P lt; 0. 001) , higher morbidity of low cardiac output syndrome and tracheotomy( P lt; 0. 01) and higher rate of aortic surgery and mortality( P lt; 0. 05) . The preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) and postoperative oxygenation index( PaO2 /FiO2 ) were lower in the VAP group than those of the control group( P lt; 0. 001) . Five variables were found to be significantly related to the development of VAP by multivariate analysis: CPB time gt; 120 min( OR = 6. 352, P = 0. 000) ; PaO2 /FiO2 lt; 300 mm Hg( OR =3. 642, P = 0. 017) , transfusion of blood products ≥1500 mL( OR = 5. 083, P = 0. 039) , ventilation time≥5 days( OR = 9. 074, P = 0. 047) and tracheotomy( OR = 19. 899, P = 0. 021) . A total of 102 pathogens were obtained by sputum culture in 64 VAP patients. There were 62( 60. 8% ) cases of gram negative bacilli, 19 cases( 18. 6% ) of gram positive cocci and 21( 20. 6% ) cases of eumycetes. Conclusion This study shows that the cardiopulmonary bypass time, ventilation time, hypoxemia, blood products transfusion and tracheotomy are risk factors most likely associated with VAP development.
Abstract： Objective To validate the value of Cleveland Clinical Score to predict acute renal failure（ARF） requiring renal replacement therapy （RRT） and in-hospital death in Chinese adult patients after cardiac surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted for all the patients who underwent cardiac surgery from January 2005 to December 2009 in Renji Hospital of School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University. A total of 2 153 adult patients, 1 267 males and 886 females，were included. Their age ranged from 18 to 99 years with an average age of 58.70 years. Cleveland Clinical Score was used to predict ARF after cardiac surgery. ARF was defined as the need for RRT. Based on Cleveland Clinical Score, the patients were divided into four risk categories of increasing severity：0 to 2 point（n=979）, 3 to 5 point （n=1 116）, 6 to 8 point（n=54）, 9 to 13 point（n=4）. The rates of ARF, multiple organ system failure （MOSF）, and mortality were compared among the 4 categories. The predictive accuracy of postoperative ARF and hospital mortality was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve （AUC-ROC）. Results In the four categories, the rate of postoperative ARF was 0.92%, 1.88%, 12.96%, and 25.00%, respectively； MOSF rate was 1.23%, 1.88%, 3.70%, and 25.00%, respectively; mortality was 0.92%, 4.21%, 25.93%, and 50.00%, respectively. There was significant dif ference among the four categories in ARF rate （χ2=55.635, P=0.000），MOSF rate（χ2=16.080, P=0.001）, and mortality （χ2=71.470, P=0.000）. The AUC-ROC for Cleveland Clinical Score predicting ARF rate and hospital mortality was 0.775 （95%CI 0.713 to 0.837, P=0.000）and 0.764（95%CI, 0.711 to 0.817, P=0.000）, respectively. Conclusion Cleveland Clinical Score can accurately predict postoperative ARF and hospital mortality in a large, unselected Chinese cohort of adult patients after cardiac surgery. It can be used to provide evidence for effective preventive measures for patients at high risk of postoperative ARF.
Abstract： Objective To analyze the early outcomes of open heart surgery for congenital heart diseases in sixty low birth weight infants and premature infants. Methods Sixty low birth weight infants （body weight＜2 500 g） and premature infants with congenital heart diseases undergoing surgical repair from May 2003 to October 2011 were studied retrospectively in Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute. There were 43 male patients and 17 female patients with their mean gestational age of 33.5±4.1 weeks （ranging from 26 to 42 weeks） and mean age at operation of 24.9±12.5 d（ranging from 4 to 55 d）. Among them there were 47 premature infants with their mean birth weight of 1 729.3±522.5 g（ranging from 640 to 2 500 g）and mean weight at operation of 1 953.2±463.6 g （ranging from 650 to 2 712 g）. All the patients received preoperative treatment in newborn intensive care unit（NICU） and underwent surgical repair under general anesthesia, including 29 patients without cardiopulmonary bypass （CPB）and 31 patients with CPB . All surviving patients received postoperative monitoring and treatment in NICU, and their postoperative complications and in-hospital death were reported. Results A total of 13 patients died during hospitalization with a total in-hospital mortality of 21.7%（13/60）, including 4 intra-operative deaths, 6 early deaths （within 72 h postoperatively） and 3 patients giving up postoperative treatment. CPB time was 121.0±74.7 min, aortic clamp time was 74.8±44.7 min, and postoperative mechanicalventilation time was （136.9±138.1）h. Thirteen patients underwent delayed sternal closure. Eight patients underwentreexploation for postoperative bleeding. Ten patients had severe pneumonia, 2 patients had pulmonary hypertensive crisis, and 8 patients had low cardiac output syndrome. All the postoperative complications were resolved or improved after proper treatment. Follow-up was complete in 47 patients from 2 to 12 monthes, and all the patients were alive during follow-up. Conclusion Early surgical repair for low birth weight infants and premature infants with congenital heart diseases is safe and effective.
Objective To study palliative surgical strategies for patients with complex congenital heart diseases， and improve their clinical outcomes and survival rate.?Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 95 patients with complex congenital heart diseases who underwent palliative surgical repair in Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College，Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2004 to May 2011. There were 68 male patients and 27female patients with their age ranging from 1 month to 37 years. Modified Blalock-Taussig shunt （B-T shunt） was performed in 12 patients， modified Brock’s procedure in 23 patients， bidirectional Glenn procedure in 55 patients and pulmonary artery banding in 5 patients. Surgical strategies and influential factors of treatment outcomes were analyzed.?Results There were 10 in-hospital death with the overall mortality of 10.5% （10/95）. All the surviving patients were discharged successfully. Main postoperative complications included low cardiac output syndrome， hypoxemia and pneumonia. All the surviving patients were followed up for 5 months to 6 years， and in New York Heart Association （NYHA） functional class ⅠorⅡduring follow-up. During follow-up， nine patients after modified Brock’s procedure received radical repair， and 6 patients after bidirectional Glenn procedure received total cavopulmonary connection.?Conclusion A considerable numberof patients with complex congenital heart diseases may miss their best timing for surgical repair， which significantlyinfluences their surgical outcomes. We need to choose best palliative surgical strategy for these patients according to their pulmonary artery development condition， heart malformation characteristics and final treatment goal.
Abstract: Objective To find out the factors which influence plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels and assess whether preoperative plasma NT-proBNP levels can predict postoperative outcomes of cardiac surgery. Methods A total of 120 patients including 83 males and 37 females undergoing various cardiac procedures between December 2008 and May 2009 were included in the study. Their age ranged from 25 to 84 years with an average age of 62.13 years. Through pathological diagnosis, 35 patients had heart valve diseases, 74 had coronary artery diseases, 3 had congenital heart diseases and 8 had aortic aneurysm. NT-proBNP, creatinine, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels were measured preoperatively and 24 hours after operation. Ventilation time, length of stay in ICU or in hospital, and mortality were closely monitored after operation. The following events were regarded as endpoints: (1) ICU stay timegt;4 d; (2) Ventilation timegt;48 h; (3) Death occurred during the first 30 days after operation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the prediction function of NTproBNP on endpoint events. Based on the cutoff value, the patients were divided into the NT-proBNP increasing group and nonincreasing group. Univariate and logistic multifactor analysis were adopted to analyze factors which had an influence on preoperative NT-proBNP level. Results NT-proBNP concentration [CM(159mm]increased significantly from 37.5-30 867.0 pg/ml (1 929.12±3 749.44 pg/ml) preoperatively to 177.7-35 000.0pg/ml(2 950.32±4 006.14 pg/ml) 24 hours after operation (t=-2.599, P=0.012). ROC curve demonstrated that a cutoff value above 867 pg/ml preoperatively could predict endpoint events with a sensitivity of 77.8% and a specificity of 62.7%. Ventilation time and length of stay in hospital for the patients in the NT-proBNP increasing group were significantly longer than those of patients in the nonincreasing group (26.44±32.75 h vs. 14.49±9.23 h, t=2.507, P=0.015; 23.70±24.02 d vs. 16.21±8.11 d, t=2.117,P=0.039). Influencing factors on preoperative NTproBNP level included preoperative atrial fibrillation, heart function classification, left ventricular enddiastolic dimension (LVEDD), ejection fraction (EF), pulmonary artery pressure, preoperative creatinine, cTnT and pathological diagnosis. EF (P=0.007) and preoperative atrial fibrillation (P=0.018) were independently associated with preoperative NT-proBNP level. Preoperative NTproBNP was closely related to ventilation time (P=0.015), and length of stay in hospital (P=0.039). Conclusion Preoperative plasma NT-proBNP level presents a high individual variability in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Ejection fraction and preoperative atrial fibrillation are independently associated with preoperative NT-proBNP level. Preoperative NT-proBNP is a valuable marker in predicting bad outcome in patients undergoing heart surgery.
Abstract: Objective To summarize the clinical experiences of treatment of pulmonary artery dissection, in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 4 patients including 3 males and 1 female with pulmonary artery dissection who were treated in Fu Wai Hospital between October 1996 and May 2009. Their age ranged from 17 to 45 years with an average age of 31 years. One patient with pulmonary artery dissection with aortic root aneurysm and chronic type Ⅱ aortic dissection was treated with Bentall’s surgery, total arch replacement and pulmonary artery angioplasty under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. One patient with pulmonary artery dissection with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and severe pulmonary hypertension after a failed PDA transcatheter closure was treated with conservative strategy. For the one patient with pulmonary artery dissection with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, VSD was repaired under cardiopulmonary bypass while left pulmonary artery dissection was left untreated. And conservative treatment was carried out for another patient with pulmonary artery dissection with VSD, PDA and Eisenmenger’s syndrome. Results Three patients recovered and 1 patient died of acute pericardial tamponade due to rupture of the dissection within 60 hours after onset of dissection. Followup was done in 3 cases with 1 lost. The followup time was 3 months and 4 years respectively. The New York Heart Association was class Ⅰ and Ⅱ. Conclusion Dissection of the pulmonary artery is a rare disease with a tendency of rupture and bad prognosis. Symptoms of pulmonary artery dissection are nonspecific, which can cause missed diagnosis. In patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension, the sudden seizure of chest pain, exertional dyspnea, and cyanosis, or worsened hemodynamics and cardiac shock may indicate pulmonary artery dissection which can be easily detected with echocardiography, CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Corrective surgery or conservative treatment can prevent rupture and possible death based on different causes of pulmonary artery dissection.
Objective To summarize the immediate and intermediate outcomes of surgical correction on patients with tetralogy of Fallot and absent pulmonary valve (TOF/PVAB). Methods From January 1996 to August 2009, 14 patients，including 5 males and 9 females, aged 3.4±3.4 years (0.2-11.0 years) with an average weight of 12.0±6.3 kg (4-26 kg), underwent complete surgical correction in Beijing Fu Wai Cardiovascular Hospital. The right ventricular outflow tract was reconstructed with valved conduit in 4 patients, and monocusp with transannular patch was used in 10 patients. Six patients underwent pulmonary artery wall reduction, and 2 patients underwent both pulmonary artery plication and wall reduction. Results There were 2 (14.3%) perioperative deaths. Both were low bodyweight infants. One died of low cardiac output and respiratory failure, and the other died of central nervous system complications. Ten patients were followed up for an average time of 8.3±4.3 years (0.6-13.0 years). All patients followed up survived. The echocardiogram found pulmonary valvular dysfunction in 4 patients. The patients’ cardiac function were classified as New York Heart Association(NYHA) Ⅰ to Ⅱ. There was no late death or reoperation. Conclusion The immediate and intermediate outcomes of surgical correction of TOF/PVAB are good, but the function of pulmonary valves and conduit should be followed-up closely.
Heart valve disease is one of the three most common cardiac diseases,and the patients undergoing valve surgery have been increasing every year. Due to the high mortality,increasing number of valve surgeries,and increasing economic burdens on public health, a lot of risk models for valve surgery have been developed by various countries based on their own clinical data all over the world,which aimed to regulate the preoperative risk assessment and decrease the perioperative mortality. Over the last 10 years, a number of excellent risk models for valve surgery have finally been developed including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons(STS), the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ National Cardiac Database (STS NCD),New York Cardiac Surgery Reporting System(NYCSRS),the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation(EuroSCORE),the Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group(NNECDSG),the Veterans Affairs Continuous Improvement in Cardiac Surgery Study(VACICSP),Database of the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland(SCTS), and the North West Quality Improvement Programme in Cardiac Interventions(NWQIP). In this article, we reviewed these risk models which had been developed based on the multicenter database from 1999 to 2009, and summarized these risk models in terms of the year of publication, database, valve categories, and significant risk predictors.
Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) can promote the quality of cardiac surgery and reduce peri-operative complications, and thus has been gradually accepted by cardiac surgeons. Through an esophageal probe, TEE can clearly visualize the internal structure of the heart without interrupting surgical procedure. As a newly developed technology which breaks the limitations tied to the traditional two-dimensional TEE, the realtime threedimensional transesophageal echocardiogram (RT3D-TEE) has the advantages of showing threedimensional structure of the heart and providing full range of anatomical information of the heart. Furthermore, it can precisely analyze the anatomical structure of the abnormal heart valves and provide assessment of the change of heart volume. Relying on its unique imaging property, it can largely facilitate preoperative decision-making and provide realtime intraoperative guidance as well as accurate postoperative evaluation. It has now been successfully applied in various types of cardiac surgical procedures including valve repair surgery, congenital heart defect intervention, cardiac mass removal as well as heart function evaluation. In this article, we will review the applications of RT3D-TEE in cardiac surgery, and try to form a basis for its further clinical application.