Cryoablation Catheter Used in the Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation May Treat Chest Tube Pain: Engin Technique.

Postoperative pain after cardiac surgery plays an important role in the patient's recovery process. In particular, pain at the chest tube site can negatively affect the comfort and recovery of these patients. Effective pain control minimizes the risk of many complications. Oral and intravenous analgesics, epidural anesthesia, paravertebral block, and intercostal nerve blockade are used in chest tube pain control. We routinely use the surgical cryoablation method in the presence of atrial fibrillation in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery in our clinic. Here we aimed to describe our method of using the cryoablation catheter for intercostal nerve blockade.

Relationship between platelet-related parameters and new-onset atrial fibrillation after coronary bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. In this study, we aimed to investigate the changes in mean platelet volume and platelet values during the spring and autumn seasons in patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery and the possible effect of these occurrences on postoperative atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent elective isolated coronary bypass surgery at our clinic in the spring and autumn months, between August 2020 and July 2022, were retrospectively included in this study. Variables were evaluated according to the spring and autumn seasons. Patients who did not develop in-hospital postoperative atrial fibrillation were identified as Group 1, and those who did constituted Group 2. RESULTS: A total of 622 patients were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups: those who were operated on in the spring (n=277, median age=62 years, male gender ratio=77.3%) and those who were operated on in the autumn (n=345, median age=61 years, male gender ratio=81.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between the patients operated on in both seasons in terms of age, gender, hypertension rates, and the frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In multivariate analysis, being over 70 years old (OR: 1.934, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.489-2.995, p<0.001), having a left ventricular ejection fraction below 30% (OR: 1.550, 95%CI 1.190-2.236, p=0.012), and having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR: 1.663, 95%CI 1.339-2.191, p<0.001) were found to be independent predictors in predicting the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSION: In this study, we first demonstrated that mean platelet volume and platelet mass index values were higher in patients in the autumn months. Additionally, for the first time in the literature, we showed that there is a significant relationship between platelet mass index value and the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft.

Investigation of the effect of visceral adiposity index on venous clinical severity score in patients with chronic venous insufficiency.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a common disease affecting millions worldwide. Age, obesity, female gender, sedentary life, and long-standing at work causing orthostasis have been identified as predisposing factors. OBJECTIVE: The visceral adiposity index (VAI) is an important indicator of abdominal obesity. Various studies in the cardiovascular field have shown that it may be more predictive than body mass index (BMI). METHODS: A total of 171 consecutive patients diagnosed with low-grade (C0-C3) superficial primary CVI in our clinic, between November 2021 and December 2022, were included in this prospective study. Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) values were calculated. The patients were divided into two groups according to their VCSS values (Group 1: VCSS ≤6 and Group 2: VCSS >6). RESULTS: There were 110 patients in Group 1 with a median age of 42 (18-50) years. There was no difference between the groups in terms of gender, smoking, hypertension frequency, height, weight, body mass index, hemoglobin values, lymphocyte, neutrophil, mean platelet volume, urea, creatinine, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and total cholesterol values (p > .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to reveal the predictive factors of high VCSS values in patients. As a result of the analysis, VAI (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.775; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.389-2.269; p < .001) and CRP (OR: 2.641; 95% CI: 1.431-4.875; p = .002) values were identified as independent predictors in predicting high VCSS values. CONCLUSION: This current study showed that high VAI values affect clinical complaints in patients with low-grade CVI. In line with our results, clinical recommendations can be made to reduce VAI values in low-stage CVI patients.

Late Saphenous Vein Graft Disease: Cut to the Chase.

We read with interest the article entitled "The Role of Systemic Immune Inflammation Index for Predicting Saphenous Vein Graft Disease in Patients with Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting." We congratulate the authors for their contribution. We would like to discuss some points about the late development of saphenous vein graft disease.

Investigation of the effect of acute to chronic glycemic ratio on major amputation development after surgical thromboembolectomy in patients with acute lower extremity ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is an emergency vascular pathology in which perfusion is disrupted in the lower extremity and threatens extremity viability. The admission blood glucose (ABG)/estimated average glucose (eAG) value has recently been shown as a prognostic marker in acute cardiovascular events. In this study, we aimed to investigate the predictive role of an ABG/eAG value in predicting development of early postoperative major amputation after emergency thromboembolectomy operations in patients presenting with ALI. METHOD: Patients who admitted to our hospital with ALI between November 01, 2016 and September 01, 2021 and underwent surgical thromboembolectomy were retrospectively included in the study. Patients who did not undergo postoperative limb amputation were recorded as Group 1, and patients who underwent major amputation in the early postoperative period (in-hospital), were recorded as Group 2. RESULTS: The median age of the 226 patients included in Group 1 and 72 patients in Group 2 were 58 (34-86) years and 69 (33-91) years, respectively (p<0.001). In univariate analysis, in-hospital amputation was found to significantly correlate with age>70 years (odds ratio [OR]: 1.914, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.351-2.319, p<0.001), PAD (OR: 1.698, 95% CI: 1.270-1.992, p = 0.002 re-embolectomy (OR: 2.184, 95% CI: 1.663-3.085, p < 0.001), admission Rutherford class (OR: 0.762, 95% CI: 0.591-0.859, p = 0.032), admission time>6 h (OR: 1.770, 95% CI: 1.480-1.152, p = 0.009), ABG (OR: 1.275, 95% CI: 1.050-1.790, p < 0.001), and ABG/eAG (OR: 1.669, 95% CI: 1.315-2.239, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: According to our study, we can predict patient groups with a high risk of major amputation with the ABG/eAG value calculated from the blood values of the patients at the time of admission.

Investigation of the effects of diabetes mellitus on left internal thoracic artery flow patterns in patients scheduled to undergo coronary bypass graft surgery.

PURPOSE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) plays a key role in the formation and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of DM and glycemic control on left internal thoracic artery (LITA) Doppler flow in patients scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS: Patients who were hospitalized with a planned isolated CABG operation to our clinic between October 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020 were consecutively included in this prospective study. The patients were divided into three groups as those without DM (Group 1), those with DM and HbA1c values of below 7.5 (Group 2), and those with DM and HbA1c values of 7.5 and above (Group 3). The differences between the LITA Doppler flow patterns of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean ages of Group 1 (n = 103), Group 2 (n = 42), and Group 3 (n = 47) were 59.8 ± 9.6 years, 60.5 ± 9.3 years, and 61.9 ± 8.1 years, respectively. The groups differed in terms of diameter, volume, Vmax, pulsality index (PI), and resistive index (RI) values, both when the groups were compared among themselves (P < .001, for all), and when they were compared between those with (Groups 2 and 3) and without DM (Group 1) (P < .001, for all). Volume (R = -0.627, P < .001) and Vmax (R = -.450, P < .001) were moderately negatively correlated, while PI (R = .523, P < .001) and RI (R = 0.598, P < 0.001) were moderately positively correlated with HbA1c levels. CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed that increased HbA1c levels may be associated with significant functional and structural changes of LITA.

The effectiveness of different treatment methods in isolated telangiectasia and reticular vein treatment: A single-center prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND: There are opinions that telangiectasis and reticular veins are asymptomatic and constitute a cosmetic problem only. However, it has been proven that telangiectasis and reticular veins also affect the quality of life and are symptomatic. METHODS: Ninety consecutive female patients who were admitted to our outpatient clinic and did not have insufficiency in deep, superficial and perforating veins were included in this study. All participants were divided into three groups as the compression group (Group 1), medical treatment group (Group 2), and sclerotherapy group (Group 3). The initial complaint severities of all patients were noted. Except for patient compliance assessment, baseline, 1st month (T1), 3rd month (T2) and 6th month (T3) evaluation records were kept in all three groups. RESULTS: The study began with a total of 90 patients, 30 patients in each group. The mean ages of Groups 1, 2 and 3 were 39.73 ± 8.51 years, 39.30 ± 8.67 years, and 40.77 ± 9.45 years, respectively. The rates of decrease in pain, itching, restless leg, and muscle cramps were similar among the patient groups at all times (P > 0.05). The rate of reduction in swelling was similar between the groups at T1 and T2 (P > 0.05), while there was a significant difference between the groups at T3 (P = 0.009). The groups significantly differed in terms of appearance concern at all times (P = 0.002 for T1, P < 0.001 for T2 and T3). CONCLUSION: We showed that symptoms such as swelling and heaviness in leg can be improved with medical treatment, but the patient's cosmetic satisfaction can increase with sclerotherapy.

Effect of del nido cardioplegia use on kidney injury after coronary bypass operations.

OBJECTIVE: After cardiac surgery, acute kidney injury is observed at a rate of 5-30%, and the second most common cause of acute kidney injury in intensive care units is cardiac surgery. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of del Nido cardioplegia solution use on postoperative acute kidney injury development in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting operation with cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent an elective coronary artery bypass grafting operation with cardiopulmonary bypass in our clinic between March 15, 2019, and March 15, 2020, were included in the study retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups as those who received del Nido cardioplegia solution (Group 1) and blood cardioplegia (Group 2), and factors affecting the development of renal failure were examined. RESULTS: A total of 350 consecutive patients were included in the study. There were 156 patients in the del Nido cardioplegia group and 194 patients in the blood cardioplegia group. Among the patient group, 74 (21.1%) patients developed acute kidney injury. The total acute kidney injury development rate was significantly higher in Group 2 (p=0.018). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, advanced age (OR 1.128; 95%CI 1.044-1.217; p=0.042), increased blood product use (OR 1.318; 95%CI 1.154-1.998; p=0.019), preoperative creatinine elevation (OR 2.434; 95%CI 1.655-4.639; p=0.005), and increased cardioplegia volume (OR 1.254; 95%CI 1.109-2.980; p=0.009) were independent predictors of acute kidney injury. CONCLUSION: With this study, we showed that the use of del Nido cardioplegia solution can reduce the incidence of acute kidney injury.