Neonatal congenital heart surgery: contemporary outcomes and risk profile.

OBJECTIVE: Many studies still dispute the identification of independent risk factors that influence outcome after neonatal cardiac surgery. We present our study to announce the contemporary outcomes and risk profile of neonatal cardiac surgery at our institute. METHODS: We designed a retrospective study of neonatal patients who underwent surgery for congenital heart diseases between June 2011 and April 2020. Demographic, operative, and postoperative data were collected from medical records and surgical databases. The primary outcome was the operative mortality (in-hospital death) and secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay, intensive care unit stay, duration of mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: In total, 1155 cardiac surgeries in children were identified; of these, 136 (11.8%) were performed in neonates. Arterial switch operations (48 cases) were the most frequent procedures. Postoperatively, 11 (8.1%) patients required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and 4 (2.9%) patients had complete heart block. Postoperative in-hospital mortality was 11%. The median postoperative duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit stay, and hospital length of stay were 6, 18, and 24 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: The early outcomes of neonatal cardiac surgery are encouraging. The requirement of postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, postoperative intracranial hemorrhage, and acute kidney were identified as independent risk factors of mortality following surgery for congenital heart defects in neonates.

Giant Aortic Aneurysm in Child with Cutis Laxa Syndrome: Unusual Presentation, New Surgical Technique.

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms are rare in childhood and typically are seen in the setting of connective tissue defect syndromes. These aneurysms may lead to rupture, dissection, or valvular insufficiency, so root replacement is recommended. Here, we present a 17-month-old girl who presented with fever, cough, and pericardial effusion. Initially, we suspected this could be a COVID-19 case, so a nasopharyngeal swap was performed. An ascending aorta aneurysm involving the aortic arch was confirmed by echo, and urgent ascending aorta and arch replacement were done by utilizing the descending aorta as a new arch. The final diagnosis came with cutis laxa syndrome. In similar cases, good outcomes can be achieved with accurate diagnosis and appropriate surgical management.

Re-exploration for bleeding after cardiac surgery: revaluation of urgency and factors promoting low rate.

BACKGROUND: Re-exploration of bleeding after cardiac surgery is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Perioperative blood loss and rate of re-exploration are variable among centers and surgeons. OBJECTIVE: To present our experience of low rate of re-exploration based on adopting checklist for hemostasis and algorithm for management. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of medical records was conducted for 565 adult patients who underwent surgical treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease and were complicated by postoperative bleeding from Feb 2006 to May 2019. Demographics of patients, operative characteristics, perioperative risk factors, blood loss, requirements of blood transfusion, morbidity and mortality were recorded. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of re-exploration and determinants of adverse outcome. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (1.14%) were reexplored for bleeding. An identifiable source of bleeding was found in 11 (84.6%) patients. Risk factors for re-exploration were high body mass index, high Euro SCORE, operative priority (urgent/emergent), elevated serum creatinine and low platelets count. Re-exploration was significantly associated with increased requirements of blood transfusion, adverse effects on cardiorespiratory state (low ejection fraction, increased s. lactate, and prolonged period of mechanical ventilation), longer intensive care unit stay, hospital stay, increased incidence of SWI, and higher mortality (15.4% versus 2.53% for non-reexplored patients). We managed 285 patients with severe or massive bleeding conservatively by hemostatic agents according to our protocol with no added risk of morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSION: Low rate of re-exploration for bleeding can be achieved by strict preoperative preparation, intraoperative checklist for hemostasis implemented by senior surgeons and adopting an algorithm for management.

Clinical Presentation and Outcome of Patients With Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Versus Atherosclerotic Coronary Plaque Dissection.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic coronary plaque dissection (ACPD) is one cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) caused by underlying atherosclerosis. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) occurs outside the setting of atherosclerosis among young women and individuals with few or no conventional atherosclerotic risk factors, and has emerged as an important cause of ACS, and sudden death. A comparison between ACPD and SCAD has not been previously addressed in the literature. Our study will compare ACPD and SCAD. METHODS: Patients with confirmed diagnosis of SCAD and ACPD were retrospectively identified from 30 centers in 4 Arab Gulf countries between January 2011 and December 2017. In-hospital (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, myocardial infarction (MI), percutaneous coronary intervention, dissection extension, cardiogenic shock, death, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement) and follow-up (MI, de novo SCAD, spontaneous superior mesenteric artery dissection, death) events were compared between them. RESULTS: Eighty-three cases of SCAD and 48 ACPD were compared. ACPD patients were more frequently male (91.67% vs. 49.40%, P < 0.001) and older (58.5 vs. 44, P < 0.001). Cardiovascular risk factors were more prevalent in patients with ACPD, including diabetes mellitus (60.4% vs. 25.3%), dyslipidemia (62.5% vs. 38.5%), and hypertension (62.5% vs. 31.3%), P < 0.001. Hospital presentation of ST-elevation MI was diagnosed in 48% of SCAD versus 27% of ACPD patients (P = 0.012). SCAD patients received medical-only treatment in 40% of cases and ACPD in 21% (P = 0.042). In-hospital and follow-up events were comparable in both groups (P = 0.25). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a completely different pathophysiology of ACS between SCAD and ACPD, in-hospital and follow-up events were comparable.

Outcomes of Primary Bidirectional Glenn in Children with Single Ventricle Physiology and Increased Pulmonary Blood Flow.

BACKGROUND: We reported our experience in managing patients with single ventricle (SV) physiology and increased pulmonary blood flow (PBF), aiming to assess if it is feasible to proceed with primary Bidirectional Glenn (BDG) without a prior operation to limit PBF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study with 51 consecutive patients who underwent BDG operation as a primary operation or a second stage prior to the definitive Fontan operation at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between 2010 and 2018. Patients were categorized into two groups based on their PBF prior to the operation: Patients who had SV physiology and increased PBF (seven patients) vs. patients with SV physiology and restricted PBF (44 patients). RESULTS: The median age for the increased PBF group was 9.9 months [interquartile range (IQR): 2-16.9 months], and the median age for the restricted PBF group was 15.3 months (IQR: 6.7-42.6 months). Although the length of hospital stay was longer in patients with increased PBF (P = 0.039), we couldn't find a statistically significant difference in early mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of pleural drainage, and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay between the groups. CONCLUSION: In our experience, we found that primary BDG could be done safely for patients having SV physiology and increased PBF with acceptable short-term outcomes. It might further reduce the morbidity and mortality for those patients by avoiding the risk of initial pulmonary artery banding or aortopulmonary shunts.

Divorce and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease: A Multicenter Study.

The association between marital status and coronary artery disease (CAD) is supported by numerous epidemiological studies. While divorce may have an adverse effect on cardiac outcomes, the relationship between divorce and severe CAD is unclear. We conducted a multicenter, observational study of consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography during the period between April 1, 2013, and March 30, 2014. Of 1,068 patients, 124 (12%) were divorced. Divorce was more frequent among women (27%) compared to men (6%). Most divorced patients had been divorced only once (49%), but a subset had been divorced 2 (38%) or ≥3 (12%) times. After adjusting for baseline differences, there was no significant association between divorce and severe CAD in men. In women, there was a significant adjusted association between divorce and severe MVD (OR 2.31 [1.16, 4.59]) or LMD (OR 5.91 [2.19, 15.99]). The modification of the association between divorce and severe CAD by gender was statistically significant for severe LMD (Pinteraction 0.0008) and marginally significant for CAD (Pinteraction 0.05). Among women, there was a significant adjusted association between number of divorces and severe CAD (OR 2.4 [95% CI 1.2, 4.5]), MVD (OR 2.0 [95% CI 1.4, 3.0]), and LMD (OR 3.4 [95% CI 1.9, 5.9]). In conclusion, divorce, particularly multiple divorces, is associated with severe CAD, MVD, and LMD in women but not in men.

Anesthesia for tracheostomy for huge maxillofacial tumor.

Providing sedation for patients with compromised upper airway is challenging. A 19-year-old female patient with huge maxillofacial tumor invading the whole pharynx scheduled for elective tracheostomy under local anesthesia due to compromised airway. The patient had gastrostomy tube for feeding. Venous cannulation was totally refused by the patient after repeated trials for exhausted sclerosed veins. Pre-operative mixture of dexmedetomidine with ketamine was administered through the gastrostomy tube with eutectic mixture of local anesthetics cream application over the planned tracheostomy site. The patient was sedated with eye opening to command. Local infiltration followed by tracheostomy was performed without patient complaints or recall of operative events.

The correlation between esophageal and abdominal pressures in mechanically ventilated patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Intrathoracic pressure in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery may be affected by intra-abdominal pressure during surgery. We investigated the relationship between intra-abdominal pressure (Pabd) and esophageal pressure (Pes) in mechanically ventilated patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery. METHODS: We prospectively studied 43 consenting patients over 18 y of age who were scheduled for elective laparoscopic surgery with plans for intra-operative intubation and paralysis. After establishing a good level of inter-observer agreement on Pes measurements, Pes was measured by one observer for each patient using an esophageal catheter. Pabd and Pes were recorded before and after abdominal insufflation. We used regression analysis to model the relationship between Pabd and Pes. RESULTS: Patients' ages varied from 22 to 78 y, with a mean of 53.2 ± 14.6 y. Body mass index (BMI) varied from 13.7 to 60.5 kg/m2, with a mean of 33.7 ± 10.5. PEEP was 5-7 cm H2O for 19 patients and 0 cm H2O for the remainder. Most patients underwent gastric bypass surgery (n = 11); others underwent hernia repair (n = 9), colon resection (n = 7), cholecystectomy (n = 6), and various other surgeries (n = 10). Using univariate analyses, baseline Pabd was significantly correlated with baseline Pes (estimate of model coefficient [95% CI]: 0.79 [0.36-1.21], R2 = 0.24, P = .001), as was BMI (0.29 [0.19-0.40], R(2) = 0.41, P < .001). However, a multivariable analysis showed no significant correlation with baseline Pabd (0.10 [-0.46 to 0.65], P = .73), whereas BMI remained highly significant (0.27 [0.11-00.43], P = .001) with R2 = 0.40. Due to unexpected uniformity of abdominal inflation pressures (generally 20.4 cm H2O) during surgery, data were not amenable to assessment of correlation between changes in abdominal and esophageal pressures after inflation. CONCLUSION: There was a limited correlation between baseline Pes and Pabd in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery, suggesting a limited value of Pabd measurements in the management of mechanically ventilated patients.