Perioperative Primary Care Utilization and Postoperative Readmission, Emergency Department Use, and Mortality in Older Surgical Patients.

BACKGROUND: Postdischarge primary care follow-up is associated with lower readmission rates after medical hospitalizations. However, the effect of primary care utilization on readmission has not been studied in surgical patients. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older undergoing major inpatient diagnostic or therapeutic procedures (n = 3,552,906) from 2017 through 2018, examining the association between postdischarge primary care visits within 14 days of discharge (primary exposure), and Annual Wellness Visits in the year prior (secondary exposure), with 30-day unplanned readmission (primary outcome), emergency department visits, and mortality (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: Overall, 9.5% (n = 336,837) had postdischarge visits within 14 days, 2.9% (n = 104,571) had Annual Wellness Visits in the year preceding the procedure, 9.5% (n = 336,401) were readmitted, 9% (n = 319,054) had emergency department visits, and 0.6% (n = 22,103) of the cohort died within 30 days. Our fully adjusted propensity-matched proportional hazards Cox regression analysis showed that postdischarge visits were associated with a 5% lower risk of readmission (hazard ratio [HR], 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-0.97), 43% higher risk of emergency department use (HR, 1.43, 95% CI, 1.40-1.46) and no difference in mortality risk (HR, 0.98, 95% CI, 0.90-1.06), compared with not having a visit within 14 days of discharge. In a separate set of regression models, Annual Wellness Visits were associated with a 9% lower risk of readmission (HR, 0.91, 95% CI, 0.88-0.95), 45% higher risk of emergency department utilization (HR, 1.45, 95% CI, 1.40-1.49) and an 18% lower mortality risk (HR, 0.82, 95% CI, 0.75-0.89) compared with no Annual Wellness Visit in the year before the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Both postdischarge visits and the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit appear to be extremely underutilized among the older surgical population. In those patients who do utilize primary care, compared with propensity-matched patients who do not, our study suggests primary care use is associated with modestly lower readmission rates. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether targeted primary care involvement can reduce readmission.

Impact of Perioperative Blood Transfusion in Anemic Patients Undergoing Infra Inguinal Bypass.

OBJECTIVE: Patients who present with lower extremity ischemia are frequently anemic and the optimal transfusion threshold for this cohort remains controversial. We sought to evaluate the impact of blood transfusion on postoperative major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, stroke, congestive heart failure, and 30-day mortality for these patients. METHODS: All consecutive patients who underwent infra-inguinal bypass at our institution from 2011 to 2020 were included. Perioperative red blood cell transfusion was the primary exposure, and the primary outcome was MACE. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to assess the impact of patient and procedural variables, including red blood cell transfusion, stratified by hemoglobin (Hgb) nadir: <7, 7-8, and >8 g/dL. RESULTS: Of the 287 patients reviewed for analysis, 146 (50.9%) had a perioperative transfusion (mean: 1.6 ± 3 units). Patients who received a transfusion had a mean nadir Hgb of 8.3 ± 1.0 g/dL, compared to 10.1 ± 1.7 g/dL without a transfusion. The overall incidence of MACE was 15.7% (45 of 287 patients). Univariate analysis demonstrated that MACE was associated with blood transfusion (P = 0.009), lower Hgb nadir (P = 0.02), and higher blood loss (P = 0.003). On multivariate analysis, transfusion was independently associated with MACE for patients with a Hgb nadir >8 g/dL (OR: 3.09; P = 0.006), but not for patients with Hgb nadir 7-8 g/dL (OR: 0.818; P = 0.77). Additionally, patients with MACE had significantly longer length of hospital stay than for patients without (13 vs. 7.7 days, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For patients undergoing infra-inguinal bypass, receiving a red blood cell transfusion with a Hgb nadir >8 g/dL was associated with a 3-fold increase in MACE, with nearly twice the length of stay. For patients with a Hgb 7-8 g/dL, transfusion did not increase or reduce the incidence of MACE. These findings suggest no benefit of blood transfusion for patients with Hgb nadir >7 g/dL and harm for Hgb >8 g/dL, however causation cannot be proven due to the retrospective nature of the study and randomized studies are needed to confirm or refute these findings.

Association between perioperative allogeneic red blood cell transfusion and infection after clean-contaminated surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic red blood cell (RBC) transfusion can induce immunosuppression, which can then increase the susceptibility to postoperative infection. However, studies in different types of surgery show conflicting results regarding this effect. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary referral centre, we included adult patients undergoing clean-contaminated surgery from 2014 to 2018. Patients who received allogeneic RBC transfusion from preoperative Day 30 to postoperative Day 30 were included into the transfusion group. The control group was matched for the type of surgery in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was infection within 30 days after surgery, which was defined by healthcare-associated infection, and identified mainly based on antibiotic regimens, microbiology tests, and medical notes. RESULTS: Among the 8098 included patients, 1525 (18.8%) developed 1904 episodes of postoperative infection. Perioperative RBC transfusion was associated with an increased risk of postoperative infection after controlling for 27 confounders by multivariable regression analysis (odds ratio [OR]: 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-1.84; P<0.001) and propensity score weighing (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.45-1.85; P<0.001) and matching (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.43-2.01; P<0.001), and a dose-response relationship was observed. The transfusion group also showed higher risks of surgical site infection, pneumonia, bloodstream infection, multiple infections, intensive care admission, unplanned reoperation, prolonged postoperative length of hospital stay, and all-cause death. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative allogeneic RBC transfusion is associated with an increased risk of infection after clean-contaminated surgery in a dose-response manner. Close monitoring of infections and enhanced prophylactic strategies should be considered after transfusion.

The Role of Anesthesiologists in Perioperative Limitation of Potentially Life-Sustaining Medical Treatments: A Narrative Review and Perspective.

No patient arrives at the hospital to undergo general anesthesia for its own sake. Anesthesiology is a symbiont specialty, with the primary mission of preventing physical and psychological pain, easing anxiety, and shepherding physiologic homeostasis so that other care may safely progress. For most elective surgeries, the patient-anesthesiologist relationship begins shortly before and ends after the immediate perioperative period. While this may tempt anesthesiologists to defer goals of care discussions to our surgical or primary care colleagues, we have both an ethical and a practical imperative to share this responsibility. Since the early 1990s, the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) have mandated a "required reconsideration" of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders. Key ethical considerations and guiding principles informing this "required reconsideration" have been extensively discussed in the literature and include respect for patient autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. In this article, we address how well these principles and guidelines are translated into daily clinical practice and how often anesthesiologists actually discuss goals of care or potential limitations to life-sustaining medical treatments (LSMTs) before administering anesthesia or sedation. Having done so, we review how often providers implement goal-concordant care, that is, care that reflects and adheres to the stated patient wishes. We conclude with describing several key gaps in the literature on goal-concordance of perioperative care for patients with limitations on LSMT and summarize novel strategies and promising efforts described in recent literature to improve goal-concordance of perioperative care.

Perioperative omega-3 fatty acids fail to confer protection in liver surgery: Results of a multicentric, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: In a variety of animal models, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ω3-FAs) conferred strong protective effects, alleviating hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury and steatosis, as well as enhancing regeneration after major tissue loss. Given these benefits along with its safety profile, we hypothesized that perioperative administration of Ω3-FAs in patients undergoing liver surgery may ameliorate the postoperative course. The aim of this study was to investigate the perioperative use of Ω3-FAs to reduce postoperative complications after liver surgery. METHODS: Between July 2013 and July 2018, we carried out a multicentric, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to test whether 2 single intravenous infusions of Omegaven® (Ω3-FAs) vs. placebo may decrease morbidity. The primary endpoints were postoperative complications by severity (Clavien-Dindo classification) integrated within the comprehensive complication index (CCI). RESULTS: A total of 261 patients (132 in the Omegaven and 129 in the placebo groups) from 3 centers were included in the trial. Most cases (87%, n = 227) underwent open liver surgery and 56% (n = 105) were major resections (≥3 segments). In an intention-to-treat analysis including the dropout cases, the mortality rate was 4% and 2% in the Omegaven and placebo groups (odds ratio0.40;95% CI 0.04-2.51; p = 0.447), respectively. Any complications and major complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3b) occurred in 46% vs. 43% (p = 0.709) and 12% vs. 10% (p = 0.69) in the Omegaven and placebo groups, respectively. The mean CCI was 17 (±23) vs.14 (±20) (p = 0.417). An analysis excluding the dropouts provided similar results. CONCLUSIONS: The routine perioperative use of 2 single doses of intravenous Ω3-FAs (100 ml Omegaven) cannot be recommended in patients undergoing liver surgery (Grade A recommendation). LAY SUMMARY: Despite strong evidence of omega-3 fatty acids having liver-directed, anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative action in various rodent models, 2 single omega-3 fatty acid infusions given to patients before and during liver surgery failed to reduce complications. Because single omega-3 fatty acid infusions failed to confer liver protection in this trial, they cannot currently be recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov: ID: NCT01884948; Institution Ethical Board Approval: KEK-ZH-Nr. 2010-0038; Swissmedic Notification: 2012DR3215.

International multicentre review of perioperative management and outcome for catecholamine-producing tumours.

BACKGROUND: Surgery for catecholamine-producing tumours can be complicated by intraoperative and postoperative haemodynamic instability. Several perioperative management strategies have emerged but none has been evaluated in randomized trials. To assess this issue, contemporary perioperative management and outcome data from 21 centres were collected. METHODS: Twenty-one centres contributed outcome data from patients who had surgery for phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma between 2000 and 2017. The data included the number of patients with and without α-receptor blockade, surgical and anaesthetic techniques, complications and perioperative mortality. RESULTS: Across all centres, data were reported on 1860 patients with phaeochromocytoma or paraganglioma, of whom 343 underwent surgery without α-receptor blockade. The majority of operations (78·9 per cent) were performed using minimally invasive techniques, including 16·1 per cent adrenal cortex-sparing procedures. The cardiovascular complication rate was 5·0 per cent overall: 5·9 per cent (90 of 1517) in patients with preoperative α-receptor blockade and 0·9 per cent (3 of 343) among patients without α-receptor blockade. The mortality rate was 0·5 per cent overall (9 of 1860): 0·5 per cent (8 of 517) in pretreated and 0·3 per cent (1 of 343) in non-pretreated patients. CONCLUSION: There is substantial variability in the perioperative management of catecholamine-producing tumours, yet the overall complication rate is low. Further studies are needed to better define the optimal management approach, and reappraisal of international perioperative guidelines appears desirable.

ANTECEDENTES: La cirugía de los tumores productores de catecolaminas puede complicarse por la inestabilidad hemodinámica intraoperatoria y postoperatoria. Se han propuesto distintas estrategias de manejo perioperatorio, pero ninguna ha sido evaluada en ensayos aleatorizados. Para evaluar este tema, se han recogido los datos de los resultados y del manejo perioperatorio contemporáneo de 21 centros. MÉTODOS: Veintiún centros aportaron datos de los resultados de los pacientes operados por feocromocitoma y paraganglioma entre 2000-2017. Los datos incluyeron el número de pacientes con y sin bloqueo del receptor α, las técnicas quirúrgicas y anestésicas, las complicaciones y la mortalidad perioperatoria. RESULTADOS: Los centros en su conjunto aportaron datos de 1.860 pacientes con feocromocitoma y paraganglioma, de los cuales 343 pacientes fueron intervenidos sin bloqueo del receptor α. La gran mayoría (79%) de las cirugías se realizaron utilizando técnicas mínimamente invasivas, incluido un 17% de procedimientos con preservación de la corteza suprarrenal. La tasa de complicaciones cardiovasculares fue de 5,0% en total; 5,9% (90/1517) en pacientes con bloqueo preoperatorio de los receptores α y 0,9% (3/343) en pacientes no pretratados. La mortalidad global fue del 0,5% (9/1860); 0,5% (8/1517) en pacientes pretratados y 0,3% (1/343) en pacientes no tratados previamente. CONCLUSIÓN: Existe una variabilidad sustancial en el manejo perioperatorio de los tumores productores de catecolaminas, aunque la tasa global de complicaciones es baja. Este estudio brinda la oportunidad para efectuar comparaciones sistemáticas entre estrategias de prácticas terapéuticas variables. Se necesitan más estudios para definir mejor el enfoque de manejo óptimo y parece conveniente volver a evaluar las guías internacionales perioperatorias.

Hypoxemia Within the First 3 Postoperative Days Is Associated With Increased 1-Year Postoperative Mortality After Adjusting for Perioperative Opioids and Other Confounders.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative hypoxemia (POH) is common and primarily treated with temporary oxygen supplementation. Because the clinical impact of POH is sometimes presumed as minor, efforts to better understand and minimize it have been limited. Here, we hypothesized that, after adjusting for opioids received perioperatively and other confounders, the frequency of POH events (POH%) reported within the first 3 postoperative days (PODs) is associated with increased postoperative 1-year mortality. METHODS: With prior institutional review board (IRB) approval, the Epic Clarity database was queried for all adult inpatient anesthesia encounters performed at our health system (1 academic and 2 community hospitals) from January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016. Patients with multiple hospitalizations or subsequent surgeries within the same hospitalization were excluded. We classified patients based on the presence (POH) or not (No-POH) of ≥1 documented peripheral saturation of oxyhemoglobin (SpO2) ≤85% event of any duration occurring between the discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) until POD 3. Demographics, comorbidities, surgery duration, morphine milligram equivalents (OMME) administered perioperatively, respiratory therapies, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and hospital length of stay (LOS) were also collected. Logistic regression was used to characterize the association between POH and 1-year postoperative mortality after adjusting for perioperatively administered opioids and other confounding factors. RESULTS: A total of 43,011 patients met study criteria. At least 1 POH event was reported in 10,727 (24.9%) patients. Of these, 7179 (66.9%) had ≥1 hypoxemic event on POD 1, 5340 (49.8%) on POD 2, and 3455 (32.3%) on POD 3. Patients with ≥1 POH event, compared to No-POH patients, were older, had more respiratory and other comorbidities, underwent longer surgeries, received greater opioid doses on the day of surgery and POD 1, and received more continuous pulse oximetry monitoring. POH patients required more frequent postoperative oxygen therapy, noninvasive ventilation (NIV), intubation, and ICU admission. One-year postoperative mortality occurred in 4.4% of patients with ≥1 POH and 3.0% of No-POH patients (P < .001). After adjusting for confounding factors, for every 10% increase in the frequency of SpO2 ≤85% readings, the odds of postoperative 1-year mortality were 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-1.29; P < .001). Perioperative opioids were not independently associated with increased 1-year mortality. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for perioperative opioids and other confounders, moderate/severe POH within the first 3 PODs was independently associated with increased 1-year postoperative mortality. Increased efforts should be directed to understand if efforts to detect and reduce POH lead to improved patient outcomes.

Periprocedural Outcomes of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are surpassing warfarin as the anticoagulant of choice for stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. DOAC outcomes in elective periprocedural settings have not been well elucidated and remain a source of concern for clinicians. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the periprocedural safety and efficacy of DOACs versus warfarin in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. METHODS: We reviewed the literature for data from phase III randomized controlled trials comparing DOACs with warfarin in the periprocedural period among patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Substudies from 4 trials (RE-LY [Randomized Evaluation of Long-Term Anticoagulation Therapy], ROCKET AF [Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibitor Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation], ARISTOTLE [Apixaban for the Prevention of Stroke in Subjects With Atrial Fibrillation], and ENGAGE-AF [Effective Anticoagulation With Factor xA Next Generation in Atrial Fibrillation]) were included in the meta-analysis. DOACs as a group and warfarin were compared in terms of the 30-day pooled risk for stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, and death, according to whether the study drug was interrupted or not periprocedurally. The overall relative risk (RR) was estimated with a random-effects model. The I2 test was used to assess heterogeneity in RR among the studies. RESULTS: In the uninterrupted anticoagulant strategy, there were no differences in the rates of stroke/systemic embolism (pooled risk, 0.6% [29 events/4519 procedures] versus 1.1% [31/2971]; RR, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-1.18) and death (1.4% versus 1.8%; RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.53-1.12) between DOACs and warfarin and significantly fewer major bleeding events (2.0% versus 3.3%; RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.47-0.82) with DOACs compared to warfarin. Under an interrupted strategy, there was no significant difference between DOACs versus warfarin for stroke/systemic embolism (0.4% [41/9260] versus 0.5% [31/7168]; RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.59-1.55), major bleeding (2.1% versus 2.0%; RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.85-1.30), and death (0.7% versus 0.6%; RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.76-2.04). The studies were homogeneous ( I2=0.0%) for all calculated pooled associations except for the RR of death in the interrupted strategy ( I2=26.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The short-term safety and efficacy of DOACs and warfarin are not different in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation periprocedurally. Under an uninterrupted anticoagulation strategy, DOACs are associated with a 38% lower risk of major bleeding compared with warfarin.

Development of a New Comorbidity Assessment Tool for Specific Prediction of Perioperative Mortality in Contemporary Patients Treated with Radical Cystectomy.

PURPOSE: The Deyo adaptation of the Charlson comorbidity index (DaCCI), which relies on 17 comorbid condition groupings defined with 200 ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes, lacks specificity in the context of radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa). We attempted to develop a new comorbidity assessment tool based on individual comorbid conditions and/or BCa manifestations for specific prediction of perioperative mortality after RC. METHODS: We relied on 7076 T1-T4 nonmetastatic BCa patients treated with RC between 2000 and 2009 in the SEER-Medicare linked database. Within the development cohort (n = 6076), simulated annealing (SA) was used to identify (1) individual comorbid conditions, (2) individual BCa manifestations, and (3) the combination of both, that satisfy the criteria of maximal accuracy and parsimony for prediction of 90-day mortality after RC, after adjusting for several confounders. The accuracy of the newly identified groups of individual comorbid conditions and/or BCa manifestations and of the original DaCCI was tested in a 1000-patient external validation cohort. RESULTS: The combination of six individual comorbid conditions and two individual BCa disease manifestations (type II diabetes without complications, anemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, aortocoronary bypass, cardiomegaly, urinary tract infection, and hydronephrosis), and seven individual comorbid conditions (type II diabetes without complications, anemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, aortocoronary bypass, osteoarthrosis, and cardiomegaly) respectively showed 71.1 and 70.2% accuracy versus 68.0% for the original DaCCI. CONCLUSIONS: These new approaches are specific to contemporary RC patients and represent simpler methods compared with the original DaCCI, without any compromise in accuracy.

Impact of ypT, ypN, and Adjuvant Therapy on Survival in Gastric Cancer Patients Treated with Perioperative Chemotherapy and Radical Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative chemotherapy and surgery is the standard of care in advanced gastroesophageal cancer patients, but its impact among those treated with radical surgery still needs further assessment. We present the results of this multimodality treatment approach in a gastric cancer patients cohort treated with D2 lymphadenectomy. We aimed to identify prognostic factors associated with improved survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study enrolled patients treated with perioperative chemotherapy and resection in a single cancer center in Brazil between 2006 and 2016. Subjects presenting tumors of the gastric stump, esophageal tumors, or treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy were excluded. Intention-to-treat survival analysis was performed for all subjects who started neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and prognostic factors were determined among those who had R0 resection. RESULTS: This study included 239 patients, of whom 198 had R0 resection. The mean age was 59.9 years, and most had clinical stage IIB or III disease (88%). Among the 239 patients who started neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 207 (86.6%) completed all neoadjuvant treatment cycles, and surgical resection was performed in 225 subjects (94.1%). Overall 60-day morbidity and mortality rates were 35.6% and 4.4%, respectively. For the entire cohort, median survival was 78 months and the 5-year survival rate was 55.3%. Factors associated with worse survival were ypT3-4 stage, ypN + stage, extended resection, and no adjuvant chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative chemotherapy resulted in very good outcomes for patients treated with radical surgery, and downstaging after chemotherapy was shown to be a major determinant of prognosis.

Pediatric Risk Stratification Is Improved by Integrating Both Patient Comorbidities and Intrinsic Surgical Risk.

WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC: Risk stratification models to predict perioperative mortality in pediatric surgical populations are based on patient comorbidities, but do not take into consideration the intrinsic risk of the surgical procedures. WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: Surgical procedures identified by specialty are not independent risk factors for perioperative mortality in pediatric patients. However, in multivariable predictive algorithms, the interaction of patient comorbidities with the intrinsic risk of the surgical procedure strongly predicts 30-day mortality. BACKGROUND: Recently developed risk stratification models for perioperative mortality incorporate patient comorbidities as predictors but fail to consider the intrinsic risk of surgical procedures. In this study, the authors used the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric database to demonstrate the relationship between the intrinsic surgical risk and 30-day mortality and develop and validate an accessible risk stratification model that includes the surgical procedures in addition to the patient comorbidities and physical status. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric database was performed. The incidence of 30-day mortality was the primary outcome. Surgical Current Procedural Terminology codes with at least 25 occurrences were included. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors for mortality including patient comorbidities and intrinsic surgical risk. An internal validation using bootstrap resampling, and an external validation of the model were performed. RESULTS: The authors analyzed 367,065 surgical cases encompassing 659 unique Current Procedural Terminology codes with an incidence of overall 30-day mortality of 0.34%. Intrinsic risk of surgical procedures represented by Current Procedural Terminology risk quartiles instead of broad categorization was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (P < 0.001). Predicted risk of 30-day mortality ranges from 0% with no comorbidities to 4.7% when all comorbidities are present among low-risk surgical procedures and from 0.07 to 46.7% among high-risk surgical procedures. Using an external validation cohort of 110,474 observations, the multivariable predictive risk model displayed good calibration and excellent discrimination with area under curve (c-index) equals 0.95 (95% CI, 0.94 to 0.96; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding and accurately estimating perioperative risk by accounting for the intrinsic risk of surgical procedures and patient comorbidities will lead to a more comprehensive discussion between patients, families, and providers and could potentially be used to conduct cost analysis and allocate resources.

A Systematic Review of the Impact of Surgical Special Care Units on Patient Outcomes and Health Care Resource Utilization.

Perioperative intermediate care units (termed surgical special care units) have been widely implemented across health systems because they are believed to improve surveillance and management of high-risk surgical patients. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review to investigate the effects of a 3-level model of perioperative care delivery (ie, ward, surgical special care unit, or intensive care unit) compared to a 2-level model of care (ie, ward, intensive care unit) on postoperative outcomes. Our protocol was registered with PROSPERO, the international prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42015025155). Randomized controlled studies and nonrandomized comparator studies were included. We performed a systematic search of Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, and the Cochrane library (inception - 11/2017). The primary outcome was mortality; secondary outcomes included length of stay and hospital costs. We identified 1995 citations with our search, and 21 studies met eligibility criteria (2 randomized controlled studies and 19 nonrandomized comparator studies; 44,134 patients in total). Surgical special care units were characterized by continuous monitoring (12 studies), the absence of mechanical ventilation (8 studies), nurse-to-patient ratios (range, 1:2-1:4), and number of beds (median: 5; range: 3-33). Thirteen studies reported on mortality. Notable findings included no observed difference in overall in-hospital mortality, but an apparent increase in intensive care unit mortality in a 3-level model of care. This may reflect a decanting of lower acuity patients from the intensive care unit to the surgical special care unit. No significant difference was found in hospital length of stay; however, 2 studies demonstrated reductions in hospital costs with the implementation of a surgical special care unit. Significant clinical and methodological heterogeneity precluded pooled analysis. Given the prevalence of surgical special care units, the results of our review suggest that additional methodologically rigorous investigations are needed to understand the effect of these units on the surgical population.

Perioperative cardiovascular complications following urogynecological operations.

INTRODUCTION: The risk of perioperative cardiovascular complications following operations for urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) must be taken into consideration during surgical planning. The literature on the cardiovascular risk following urinary incontinence and POP operations shows conflicting results. Our aims were to provide an estimate of the mortality and the risk of cardiovascular complications following urinary incontinence and POP operations considering women's preoperative cardiovascular comorbidity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This nationwide register-based study includes a total of 13 992 operations for urinary incontinence and 35 765 for POP from 2007 to 2017. The risk was estimated as an incidence/rate ratio for women with and without former cardiovascular comorbidity adjusted for relevant confounders by using a case-crossover study design. RESULTS: A total of 7677 patients were at high risk, with a cardiovascular comorbidity prior to the operation, and 42 076 patients were at low risk, with no cardiovascular comorbidity. Overall, 11 patients died within 30 days following an operation, of whom five were in the high-risk group and six in the low-risk group. Of the women at high risk, 0.59% had cardiovascular complications from 0 to 6 days following an operation, corresponding to an incidence/rate ratio of 3.64 (95% CI; 2.67-4.97), compared with women at low risk where no complications were registered in the first week. CONCLUSIONS: We found an increased risk of cardiovascular complications following urogynecological operations in women with preoperative cardiovascular comorbidity, and no increased risk in women without prior cardiovascular comorbidity. In general, the risk of cardiovascular complications was lower than that found in previous studies.

Perioperative Acute Ischemic Stroke Increases Mortality After Noncardiac, Nonvascular, and Non-Neurologic Surgery: A Retrospective Case Series.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients who develop perioperative acute ischemic stroke (PAIS) associated with noncardiac, nonvascular, and non-neurologic surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 100 patients with PAIS. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The data of 351,531 patients who underwent noncardiac, nonvascular, and non-neurologic surgery in the authors' hospital between January 2003 and December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. PAIS occurred in 100 patients. The incidence of PAIS (overall 2.8/10,000) was significantly lower in patients <45 years old (0.12/10,000) than in patients >75 years old (15.79/10,000; p < 0.001). The in-hospital mortality rate was higher among patients with PAIS (26%) than among patients without PAIS (0.34%; p < 0.01). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed the following independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality: preoperative atrial fibrillation (odds ratio [OR] 9.013, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.400-58.016; p = 0.021), disturbance of consciousness as the first PAIS symptom (OR 5.561, 95% CI 1.521-20.332; p = 0.009), no anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy after PAIS (OR 8.196, 95% CI 1.017-66.065; p= 0.048), diuretic treatment (OR 4.942, 95% CI 1.233-19.818; p = 0.024), and pulmonary infection (OR 6.979, 95% CI 1.853-26.291; p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of PAIS after noncardiac, nonvascular, and non-neurologic surgery significantly increased with age, and development of PAIS increased the mortality rate. Among these patients, the independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were preoperative atrial fibrillation, disturbance of consciousness as the first PAIS symptom, no anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy after PAIS, diuretic treatment, and pulmonary infection.

Perioperative chemotherapy versus neoadjuvant chemoradiation for patients with adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus in Austria: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of patients with adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus (AEG type I) treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation or perioperative chemotherapy. METHODS: Eligible patients from four Austrian centers were selected to conduct a retrospective analysis. All patients treated between January 2007 and October 2017 with chemotherapy according to EOX-protocol (Epirubicin, Oxaliplatin, Xeloda) or chemoradiation according to CROSS-protocol (carboplatin/paclitaxel + RTX 41.4 Gy), before esophagectomy were included. Primary outcomes disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) as well as secondary outcomes downstaging of T- or N-stage and achievement of pathological complete response pCR (ypT0N0M0) were analyzed. Data of 119 patients were included. RESULTS: Complete data was available in 104 patients, 53 patients in the chemoradiation group and 51 patients in the chemotherapy group. The mean number of lymph nodes removed was significantly higher in the EOX group (EOX 29 ± 15.5 vs. CROSS 22 ± 8.8; p < 0.05). Median follow-up in the CROSS group was 17 months (CI 95% 8.8-25.2) and in the EOX group 37 months (CI 95% 26.5-47.5). In the chemotherapy group, the OS rate after half a year, - 1, and 3 years was 92%, 75%, and 51%. After chemoradiation, overall survival after half a year was 85 %, after 1 year 66%, and after 3 years 17%. In the EOX group DFS after ½, - 1, and 3 years was 90%, 73%, and 45%, in the chemoradiation group after half a year 81%, after 1 year 55% and after 3 years 15%. Pathological complete response (pCR) was achieved in 23% of patients after CROSS and in 10% after EOX (p < 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: There seem to be clear advantages for chemoradiation, concerning the major response of the primary tumor, whereas a tendency in favor for chemotherapy is seen in regards to systemic tumor control. Furthermore, the type of neoadjuvant treatment has a significant influence on the number of lymph nodes resected.

[Perioperative cardiovasular morbidity and mortality in noncardiac surgical interventions : Measures for optimal anesthesiological care]. / Perioperative kardiovaskuläre Morbidität und Letalität bei nichtherzchirurgischen Eingriffen : Maßnahmen der optimalen anästhesiologischen Betreuung.

Because of new surgical techniques, advanced monitoring modalities and improvements in perioperative care, perioperative mortality and morbidity have been significantly reduced in the last decades; however, patients still suffer from high perioperative mortality and morbidity, especially those with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases. Not only perioperative myocardial infarction but also myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery, which presents without clinical symptoms, is associated with an adverse outcome. Patients at risk require particular interdisciplinary attention throughout the perioperative phase. The premedication visit is of particular importance. In addition to a thorough patient medical history and physical assessment, the perioperative handling of the patient's pre-existing medication and possible necessity for further preoperative tests should be verified. If necessary and where possible, optimization of the patient's state of health can be planned together with other disciplines. It is the anesthesiologist's responsibility to optimally guide and support patients with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases through the entire surgical procedure. This review summarizes perioperative interventions that have an influence on patient mortality and morbidity and evaluates the underlying evidence. This covers the perioperative handling of cardioprotective medication, choice of the anesthetic regimen, blood pressure management and transfusion regimens. Furthermore, this review highlights recent findings, e.g. perioperative reloading with statins and short-term preoperative initiation of beta blockers. The pros and cons of thoracic epidural anesthesia in patients with an elevated cardiovascular risk are discussed. Not only intraoperative hypotension should be of concern to anesthesiologists but also postoperative hypotension can have a deleterious impact on the outcome. This is relevant in the time period when a significant proportion of patients have already left the monitoring ward. The recently published recommendations by the World Health Organization concerning perioperative hyperoxia might not be beneficial for patients with an elevated cardiovascular risk. Finally, the treatment options for perioperative cardiovascular events are explained and an algorithm for handling of patients with perioperative myocardial injury without clinical ischemic symptoms is suggested (myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery).

Effect of aspirin in vascular surgery in patients from a randomized clinical trial (POISE-2).

BACKGROUND: In the POISE-2 (PeriOperative ISchemic Evaluation 2) trial, perioperative aspirin did not reduce cardiovascular events, but increased major bleeding. There remains uncertainty regarding the effect of perioperative aspirin in patients undergoing vascular surgery. The aim of this substudy was to determine whether there is a subgroup effect of initiating or continuing aspirin in patients undergoing vascular surgery. METHODS: POISE-2 was a blinded, randomized trial of patients having non-cardiac surgery. Patients were assigned to perioperative aspirin or placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of death or myocardial infarction at 30 days. Secondary outcomes included: vascular occlusive complications (a composite of amputation and peripheral arterial thrombosis) and major or life-threatening bleeding. RESULTS: Of 10 010 patients in POISE-2, 603 underwent vascular surgery, 319 in the continuation and 284 in the initiation stratum. Some 272 patients had vascular surgery for occlusive disease and 265 had aneurysm surgery. The primary outcome occurred in 13·7 per cent of patients having aneurysm repair allocated to aspirin and 9·0 per cent who had placebo (hazard ratio (HR) 1·48, 95 per cent c.i. 0·71 to 3·09). Among patients who had surgery for occlusive vascular disease, 15·8 per cent allocated to aspirin and 13·6 per cent on placebo had the primary outcome (HR 1·16, 0·62 to 2·17). There was no interaction with the primary outcome for type of surgery (P = 0·294) or aspirin stratum (P = 0·623). There was no interaction for vascular occlusive complications (P = 0·413) or bleeding (P = 0·900) for vascular compared with non-vascular surgery. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the overall POISE-2 results apply to vascular surgery. Perioperative withdrawal of chronic aspirin therapy did not increase cardiovascular or vascular occlusive complications. Registration number: NCT01082874 ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

Perioperative Management May Improve Long-term Survival in Patients After Lung Cancer Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical resection is the main treatment for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but patients' long-term outcome is still challenging. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of long-term survival in patients after lung cancer surgery. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery for NSCLC from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2009, were enrolled into this retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome was the survival length after surgery. Predictors of long-term survival were screened with the multivariable Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Postoperative follow-up was completed in 588 patients with a median follow-up duration of 5.2 years (interquartile range, 2.0-6.8). Two hundred ninety-one patients (49.5%) survived at the end of follow-up with median survival duration of 64.3 months (interquartile range, 28.5-81.6). The overall survival rates were 90.8%, 70.0%, and 57.1% at the end of the first, third, and fifth year after surgery, respectively. Limited resection (hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.98; P = .013) and large tumor size (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.17-1.42; P < .001) were associated with short survival; whereas high body mass index grade (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.97; P = .021), highly differentiated tumor (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.93; P = .024), dissection of mediastinal lymph node during surgery (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.30-0.67; P < .001), and perioperative use of dexamethasone (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.54-0.90; P = .006) were associated with long survival. No association was found between perioperative use of flurbiprofen axetil and long survival (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.62-1.03; P = .086). However, combined administration of dexamethasone and flurbiprofen axetil was associated with longer survival (compared to no use of both: adjusted HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38-0.84; P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Certain factors in particular perioperative dexamethasone and flurbiprofen axetil therapy may improve patients' long-term survival after surgery for NSCLC. Given the small sample size, these findings should be interpreted with caution, and randomized clinical trials are needed for further clarification.

Perianesthetic and Anesthesia-Related Mortality in a Southeastern United States Population: A Longitudinal Review of a Prospectively Collected Quality Assurance Data Base.

BACKGROUND: Perianesthetic mortality (death occurring within 48 hours of an anesthetic) continues to vary widely depending on the study population examined. The authors study in a private practice physician group that covers multiple anesthetizing locations in the Southeastern United States. This group has in place a robust quality assurance (QA) database to follow all patients undergoing anesthesia. With this study, we estimate the incidence of anesthesia-related and perianesthetic mortality in this QA database. METHODS: Following institutional review board approval, data from 2011 to 2016 were obtained from the QA database of a large, community-based anesthesiology group practice. The physician practice covers 233 anesthetizing locations across 20 facilities in 2 US states. All detected cases of perianesthetic death were extracted from the database and compared to the patients' electronic medical record. These cases were further examined by a committee of 3 anesthesiologists to determine whether the death was anesthesia related (a perioperative death solely attributable to either the anesthesia provider or anesthetic technique), anesthetic contributory (a perioperative death in which anesthesia role could not be entirely excluded), or not due to anesthesia. RESULTS: A total of 785,467 anesthesia procedures were examined from the study period. A total of 592 cases of perianesthetic deaths were detected, giving an overall death rate of 75.37 in 100,000 cases (95% CI, 69.5-81.7). Mortality judged to be anesthesia related was found in 4 cases, giving a mortality rate of 0.509 in 100,000 (95% CI, 0.198-1.31). Mortality judged to be anesthesia contributory were found in 18 cases, giving a mortality of 2.29 in 100,000 patients (95% CI, 1.45-3.7). A total of 570 cases were judged to be nonanesthesia related, giving an incidence of 72.6 per 100,000 anesthetics (95% CI, 69.3-75.7). CONCLUSIONS: In a large, comprehensive database representing the full range of anesthesia practices and locations in the Southeastern United States, the rate of perianesthestic death was 0.509 in 100,000 (95% CI, 0.198-1.31). Future in-depth analysis of the epidemiology of perianesthetic deaths will be reported in later studies.

Is Compliance With Surgical Care Improvement Project Cardiac (SCIP-Card-2) Measures for Perioperative ß-Blockers Associated With Reduced Incidence of Mortality and Cardiovascular-Related Critical Quality Indicators After Noncardiac Surgery?

BACKGROUND: While continuation of ß-blockers (BBs) perioperatively has become a national quality improvement measure, the relationship between BB withdrawal and mortality and cardiovascular-related critical quality indicators has not been studied in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. METHODS: For this retrospective study, the quality assurance database of a large community-based anesthesiology group practice was used to identify 410,288 surgical cases, 18 years of age or older, who underwent elective or emergent noncardiac surgical procedures between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2014. Each surgical case that was withdrawn from BBs perioperatively was propensity matched by clinical and surgical characteristics to 4 cases that continued BBs perioperatively. Subsequently, multivariable conditional logistic regression analyses were performed in the matched cohort to determine the extent to which withdrawal of perioperative BBs was independently associated with mortality as the primary outcome and cardiovascular-related critical quality indicators as the secondary outcome (need for vasopressor, electrocardiographic changes requiring treatment, unplanned admission to intensive care unit, postanesthesia care unit stay >2 hours, and a combination of cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction) within 48 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: Of the 66,755 (16%) cases in the cohort admitted on BB therapy, BBs were withdrawn in 3829 (6%) and continued in 62,926 (94%). Propensity score matching resulted in an analysis cohort of 19,145 cases. Withdrawal of perioperative BBs in the multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was significantly associated with an increased risk for mortality (odds ratio [OR], 3.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75-7.35; P = .0003), but a significantly decreased risk for need of blood pressure support requiring vasopressor initiation (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.76-0.92; P = .0003) and extended postanesthesia care unit stay (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54-0.88; P = .004) within 48 hours after noncardiac surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative withdrawal of BBs was associated with increased risk for mortality within 48 hours after noncardiac surgery and with decreased risk for need of vasopressor during the early postoperative period and a shorter stay in the postanesthesia care unit.