The Rise and Fall of Antithrombin Supplementation in Cardiac Surgery.

Various cohort studies, both retrospective and prospective, showed that low antithrombin levels after cardiac surgery (at the arrival in the intensive care unit and during the next days) were associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including surgical reexploration and thromboembolic events, eventually leading to prolonged stay in the intensive care. Values lower than 58% to 64% of antithrombin activity were indicative of this higher morbidity with good sensitivity and specificity. The scenario generated the hypothesis that low antithrombin levels needed to be corrected by supplementation to improve postoperative outcome. However, randomized controlled studies run to test this idea failed to demonstrate any benefit of antithrombin supplementation, showing no effects on outcome, neither as preemptive preoperative strategy nor for treating postoperative low antithrombin values. In addition, randomized trials highlighted that those patients who received antithrombin experienced significantly higher incidence of acute kidney injury with a pooled odds ratio of 4.41 (95% CI, 1.90-10.23; P = .001). A strongly decreased thrombin activity after antithrombin correction may eventually affect the efficiency of the glomerular filtration and cause the deterioration of kidney function, but underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. In conclusion, low levels of antithrombin activity after cardiac surgery should be considered as a marker of greater severity of the patient's conditions and/or of the complexity of the surgical procedure. There are no indications for antithrombin supplementation in cardiac surgery unless for correcting heparin resistance.

Monitoring the Evolution of Asynchrony between Mean Arterial Pressure and Mean Cerebral Blood Flow via Cross-Entropy Methods.

Cerebrovascular control is carried out by multiple nonlinear mechanisms imposing a certain degree of coupling between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean cerebral blood flow (MCBF). We explored the ability of two nonlinear tools in the information domain, namely cross-approximate entropy (CApEn) and cross-sample entropy (CSampEn), to assess the degree of asynchrony between the spontaneous fluctuations of MAP and MCBF. CApEn and CSampEn were computed as a function of the translation time. The analysis was carried out in 23 subjects undergoing recordings at rest in supine position (REST) and during active standing (STAND), before and after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). We found that at REST the degree of asynchrony raised, and the rate of increase in asynchrony with the translation time decreased after SAVR. These results are likely the consequence of the limited variability of MAP observed after surgery at REST, more than the consequence of a modified cerebrovascular control, given that the observed differences disappeared during STAND. CApEn and CSampEn can be utilized fruitfully in the context of the evaluation of cerebrovascular control via the noninvasive acquisition of the spontaneous MAP and MCBF variability.

Platelet function after cardiac surgery and its association with severe postoperative bleeding: the PLATFORM study.

Platelet dysfunction after cardiac surgery is a determinant of postoperative bleeding. The existing guidelines suggest the use of desmopressin and/or platelet concentrate transfusions in case of platelet dysfunction in bleeding patients, but no cut-off values for platelet activity exist in the literature. The Platelet Function in the Operating Room (PLATFORM) study aims to identify the relationship between platelet function after cardiopulmonary bypass and severe bleeding, finding adequate predictive values of platelet function for severe bleeding. The PLATFORM is a prospective cohort study on 490 adult patients receiving cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients received platelet function tests (multiple electrode aggregometry ADPtest and TRAPtest) before surgery and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and routine coagulation tests before surgery and at the arrival in the intensive care unit. The post-cardiopulmonary bypass ADPtest and TRAPtest were significantly (P = 0.001) associated with severe bleeding, as well as the post-cardiopulmonary bypass activated partial thromboplastin time, the international normalized ratio, and the fibrinogen concentration. At a multivariable analysis, the ADPtest (odds ratio 0.962, 95% confidence interval 0.936-0.989, P = 0.005) and the activated partial thromboplastin time (odds ratio 1.097, 95% confidence interval 1.016-1.185, P = 0.017) remained independently associated with severe bleeding. The post-cardiopulmonary bypass ADPtest had the best discrimination, with an area under the curve of 0.712. The best positive predictive value (42%) was found at a cut-off ≤8 U. In conclusion, platelet function tests after cardiopulmonary bypass are significantly associated with postoperative bleeding. However, postoperative bleeding has a multifactorial nature, and the measure of platelet function alone does not provide a high positive predictive value for severe bleeding.

The ACEF II Risk Score for cardiac surgery: updated but still parsimonious.

Aims: The age, creatinine, and ejection fraction (ACEF) score was introduced in 2009 and is presently included in the guidelines for myocardial revascularization of the European Society of Cardiology and Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery as a risk stratification tool for surgical and percutaneous myocardial revascularization. The present study introduces an updated version of the ACEF (ACEF II) inclusive of emergency surgery and pre-operative anaemia. Methods and results: The development series includes 7011 consecutive cardiac surgery patients operated at a single institution. The validation series includes 1687 consecutive cardiac surgery patients operated in a different institution. The five factors included in the ACEF II were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression model testing their independent role as predictors of operative (in hospital or 30 days after surgery) mortality. Based on the odds ratio of each predictor, the ACEF II score is calculated as age(years)/ejection fraction (%). Additional points are attributed to a serum creatinine level > 2 mg/dL (2 points), emergency surgery (3 points) and anaemia [haematocrit (HCT) < 36%, 0.2 points per each HCT point below 36%]. The final model was well calibrated. Discrimination of the ACEF II (c-statistics 0.814) was significantly (P = 0.041) better than the ACEF (c-statistics 0.773) and equal to the EuroSCORE II. In the external validation, the ACEF II confirmed a better discrimination than the ACEF and good calibration properties. Conclusion: The ACEF II allows the inclusion of emergency patients and, through a re-modulation of the coefficients and the inclusion of anaemia, appears more adequate to the present cardiac surgery scenario.

Electric impedance platelet aggregometry in cardiac surgery patients: A comparative study of two technologies.

Platelet function tests are suggested to assess platelet reactivity before cardiac and major non-cardiac surgery. Different point-of-care platelet function tests are available. Among these, electric impedance platelet aggregometry (EIPA) (Multiplate®, MP) is one of the most widely used techniques. Recently, a new EIPA system (Rotem Platelet®, RP) was released. This is a comparative study of platelet function measured with MP and RP. Fifty cardiac surgery patients were admitted to this study. All the patients received a preoperative platelet function test with both the MP and the RP; for each technology, two tests were performed: the ADPtest (investigating P2Y12 receptor platelet reactivity) and the TRAPtest (investigating the thrombin-dependent platelet reactivity). ADP-based platelet reactivity values demonstrated a significant (p = 0.019) correlation between the MP and the RP; and a marginally significant (p = 0.042) correlation for TRAP-based tests. The Bland-Altman analysis of the ADPtest demonstrated a positive bias of 5.94 units (MP > RP) and a percentage error of 88%. For the TRAPtest, there was a positive bias of 12 units (MP > RP) and a percentage error of 89%. In patients who were preoperatively treated with P2Y12 receptor inhibitors, only the MP ADPtest was positively associated with the days from drug discontinuation (p = 0.003). Platelet function assessment with RP greatly differs from the equivalent MP measure, and no correction value can be applied due to the low level of precision. This applies both to ADPtest and TRAPtest. The MP ADPtest is more reliable for platelet reactivity after discontinuation of P2Y12 receptor inhibitors.

Aortic cross-clamp time, new prostheses, and outcome in aortic valve replacement.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: A number of sutureless bioprosthetic aortic valves have been recently introduced in clinical practice, their main advantage being a reduction in the aortic cross-clamp time (AXCT). The study aim was to investigate if AXCT was a determinant of cardiovascular morbidity in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) to treat aortic valve stenosis, and to identify any subset of patients who might benefit from a reduction in AXCT. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 979 consecutive patients with aortic valve stenosis who underwent surgical AVR. The AXCT was analyzed as an independent predictor of severe cardiovascular morbidity, defined as the presence of a low cardiac output, stroke, acute kidney injury, or operative mortality. Subgroups of patients who benefited more from a reduction in AXCT were investigated. RESULTS: The AXCT was an independent predictor of severe cardiovascular morbidity, with an increased risk of 1.4% per 1 min increase. Patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 40%, and also diabetic patients, showed the most relevant clinical benefits induced by a reduction in AXCT. CONCLUSION: In selected patient populations at high risk of systolic dysfunction, the use of sutureless aortic valve bioprostheses may be considered. However, the routine use of such bioprostheses should be pondered within a cost-benefit analysis.

Bivalirudin-based versus conventional heparin anticoagulation for postcardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

INTRODUCTION: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) after cardiac operations (postcardiotomy) is commonly used for the treatment of acute heart failure refractory to drug treatment. Bleeding and thromboembolic events are the most common complications of postcardiotomy ECMO. The present study is a retrospective comparison of the conventional heparin-based anticoagulation protocol with a bivalirudin-based, heparin-free protocol. Endpoints of this study are blood loss, allogeneic blood product use, and costs during the ECMO procedure. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken in the setting of cardiac surgery, anesthesia, and intensive care departments of a university research hospital. Twenty-one patients (12 adults and nine children) who underwent postcardiotomy ECMO from 2008 through 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The first consecutive eight patients were treated with heparin-based anticoagulation (H-group) and the next 13 consecutive patients with bivalirudin-based anticoagulation (B-group). The following parameters were analyzed: standard coagulation profile, thromboelastographic parameters, blood loss, allogeneic blood products use, thromboembolic complications, and costs during the ECMO treatment. RESULTS: Patients in the B-group had significantly longer activated clotting times, activated partial thromboplastin times, and reaction times at thromboelastography. The platelet count and antithrombin activity were not significantly different, but in the H-group a significantly higher amount of platelet concentrates, fresh frozen plasma, and purified antithrombin were administered. Blood loss was significantly lower in the B-group, and the daily cost of ECMO was significantly lower in pediatric patients treated with bivalirudin. Thromboembolic complications did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Bivalirudin as the sole anticoagulant can be safely used for postcardiotomy ECMO, with a better coagulation profile, less bleeding, and allogeneic transfusions. No safety issues were raised by this study, and costs are reduced in bivalirudin-treated patients.

Discrimination and calibration properties of the hypotension probability indicator during cardiac and vascular surgery.

BACKGROUND: Hypotension during surgery is linked to postoperative complications. Recently, a new hemodynamic algorithm intended to predict hypotensive events (hypotension probability indicator [HPI]) has been developed. The aim of the present study is to test the discrimination and calibration properties of the HPI. METHODS: The intraoperative files of 23 patients undergoing cardiac and major vascular surgery receiving the HPI-based hemodynamic monitoring were retrospectively investigated for prediction of hypotensive events (mean arterial pressure <65 mmHg). The HPI was available at 20 seconds intervals; the values of HPI five to seven minutes before a hypotensive event (HPI5-7) were tested for discrimination and calibration. RESULTS: The HPI5-7 has a fair level of discrimination (area under the curve 0.768) and a poor calibration, due to overestimation of the hypotensive risk. At the observed prevalence, a cut-off value of 85% carries a sensitivity of 62.4% and a specificity of 77.7%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 97.8% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 12.6%; a value of 98% has a PPV of 64% and an NPV of 95.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The HPI5-7 may offer some useful insights. Values ≤85% carry a clinically acceptable NPV for hypotensive events at the observed prevalence and may represent a "safe zone" during surgery. Values >85% do not carry enough PPV to trigger hemodynamic interventions, but represent a warning signal. Values >98% are highly suggesting a hypotensive event after 5-7 minutes. Further studies exploring the predictive ability of the HPI at different times are needed.

A gender-based analysis of the obesity paradox in cardiac surgery: height for women, weight for men?

OBJECTIVES: In cardiac surgery, obesity is associated with a lower mortality risk. This study aims to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and operative mortality separately in female patients and male patients undergoing cardiac surgery and to separate the effects of weight and height in each gender-based cohort of patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study including 7939 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery was conducted. The outcome measure was the operative mortality. RESULTS: In men, there was a U-shaped relationship between the BMI and the operative mortality, with the lower mortality rate at a BMI of 35 kg/m2. In women, the relationship is J-shaped, with the lower mortality at a BMI of 22 kg/m2. Female patients with obesity class II-III had a relative risk for operative mortality of 2.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-4.81, P = 0.002]. The relationship between weight and mortality rate is a U-shaped bot in men and women, with the lower mortality rate at 100 kg for men and 70 kg for women. Height was linearly and inversely associated with the operative mortality in men and women. After correction for the potential confounders, height, but not weight, was independently associated with operative mortality in women (odds ratio 0.949, 95% CI 0.915-0.983; P = 0.004); conversely, in men, this association exists for weight (odds ratio 1.017, 95% CI 1.001-1.032; P = 0.034), but not height. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to men, in women obesity does not reduce the operative mortality in cardiac surgery, whereas the height seems to be associated with a lower mortality.

Bloodstream infections during post-cardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after heart surgery is a relatively common procedure. It is easily applicable but associated with a number of complications, including bloodstream infections. The aim of this study is to determine the current rate and the risk factors related to bloodstream infections acquired during post-cardiotomy veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. METHODS: Single-center retrospective study. From the overall population receiving any kind of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from March 2013 through December 2017, the post-cardiotomy patient population was extracted, with a final sample of 92 veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenations. The risk of developing bloodstream infections as a function of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation exposure was analyzed with appropriate statistical analyses, including a Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 14 (15.2%) patients developed a bloodstream infection during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or within the first 48 h after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation removal. The total extracorporeal membrane oxygenation duration in the population was 567 days, and the incidence of bloodstream infections was 24.7 bloodstream infections/1000 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation days. There was a progressive increase in the cumulative hazard ratio during the first 7 days, reaching a value of 20% on day 7; from day 7 and day 15, the hazard ratio remained stable, with a second increase after day 15. The independent risk factors associated with bloodstream infections were adult age, pre-implantation serum total bilirubin level, and the amount of chest drain blood loss. DISCUSSION: Infections acquired during veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are common. Identify the risk factors that may improve strategies for treatment and prevention.

Short-term multiscale complexity analysis of cardiovascular variability improves low cardiac output syndrome risk stratification after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) is a myocardial dysfunction leading to systemic hypoperfusion, favored by particular conditions of the autonomic nervous system. LCOS is one of the adverse events that might occur after cardiac surgery. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to test the hypothesis that short-term multiscale complexity (MSC) analysis of heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) variability series in the frequency bands typical of cardiovascular control could be fruitfully exploited in identifying subjects at risk of developing LCOS after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). APPROACH: HP and SAP beat-to-beat series were derived from electrocardiogram (ECG) and invasive arterial pressure (AP) signal acquired in 128 patients scheduled for CABG before (PRE) and after (POST) the induction of general anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil. Subjects were labeled as LCOS (n = 14) and noLCOS (n = 114) according to the LCOS development. MSC markers were calculated as the complement to 1 of the modulus of the average position of the poles dropping in the low-frequency (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF, 0.15-0.5 Hz) bands as derived from the autoregressive model of HP and SAP series. Traditional time and frequency domain indexes were also calculated. MAIN RESULTS: Traditional parameters were able to assess the depression of the cardiovascular regulation induced by general anesthesia, but showed weak performances in differentiating LCOS and noLCOS groups. Conversely, HP complexity in LF band and SAP complexity in HF band assessed during POST remained associated with LCOS even after entering a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for clinical and demographic factors. SIGNIFICANCE: The MSC approach can be fruitfully applied to improve risk stratification for LCOS after CABG likely because MSC markers describe the dysfunction of the sympathetic control and the impairment of the mechanical properties of the heart in the LCOS group.

Causality analysis reveals the link between cerebrovascular control and acute kidney dysfunction after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery might experience postoperative complications and some of them, such as acute kidney dysfunction (AKD), are the likely consequence of hypoperfusion. We hypothesized that an impaired cerebrovascular control is a hallmark of a vascular damage that might favor AKD after CABG. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to characterize cerebrovascular control in CABG patients through the assessment of the relationship between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MCBFV) and to check whether markers describing MCBFV-MAP dynamical interactions could identify subjects at risk to develop postoperative AKD. APPROACH: MAP and MCBFV beat-to-beat series were extracted from invasive arterial pressure and transcranial Doppler recordings acquired simultaneously in 23 patients just before CABG after the induction of propofol general anesthesia. Subjects were divided into AKD group (n = 9, age: 68 ± 9, 8 males) and noAKD group (n = 14, age: 65 ± 8, 12 males) according to whether they developed postoperative AKD or not after CABG. We computed MAP and MCBFV time-domain and spectral markers as well as MCBFV-MAP cross-spectral indexes in very-low-frequency (VLF, 0.02-0.07 Hz), low-frequency (LF, 0.07-0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF, 0.15-0.30 Hz) bands. We also calculated model-based transfer entropy (TE) to quantify the degree of MCBFV dependence on MAP and vice versa. The null hypothesis of MCBFV-MAP uncoupling was tested via a surrogate approach associating MAP and MCBFV in different patients. MAIN RESULTS: Time, spectral and cross-spectral markers had a limited power in separating AKD from noAKD individuals. Conversely, TE from MAP to MCBFV was significantly above the level set by surrogates only in AKD groups and significantly larger than that computed in noAKD. SIGNIFICANCE: The reduced cerebrovascular autoregulation in AKD patients suggest a vascular impairment likely making them more at risk of hypoperfusion during CABG and AKD after CABG.

Comparison of Causal and Non-causal Strategies for the Assessment of Baroreflex Sensitivity in Predicting Acute Kidney Dysfunction After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may lead to postoperative complications such as the acute kidney dysfunction (AKD), identified as any post-intervention increase of serum creatinine level. Cardiovascular control reflexes like the baroreflex can play a role in the AKD development. The aim of this study is to test whether baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) estimates derived from non-causal and causal approaches applied to spontaneous systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and heart period (HP) fluctuations can help in identifying subjects at risk of developing AKD after CABG and which BRS estimates provide the best performance. Electrocardiogram and invasive arterial pressure were acquired from 129 subjects (67 ± 10 years, 112 males) before (PRE) and after (POST) general anesthesia induction with propofol and remifentanil. Subjects were divided into AKDs (n = 29) or no AKDs (noAKDs, n = 100) according to the AKD development after CABG. The non-causal approach assesses the transfer function from the HP-SAP cross-spectrum in the low frequency (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) band. BRS was estimated according to three strategies: (i) sampling of the transfer function gain at the maximum of the HP-SAP squared coherence in the LF band; (ii) averaging of the transfer function gain in the LF band; (iii) sampling of the transfer function gain at the weighted central frequency of the spectral components of the SAP series dropping in the LF band. The causal approach separated the two arms of cardiovascular control (i.e., from SAP to HP and vice versa) and accounted for the confounding influences of respiration via system identification and modeling techniques. The causal approach provided a direct estimate of the gain from SAP to HP by observing the HP response to a simulated SAP rise from the identified model structure. Results show that BRS was significantly lower in AKDs than noAKDs during POST regardless of the strategy adopted for its computation. Moreover, all the BRS estimates during POST remained associated with AKD even after correction for demographic and clinical factors. Non-causal and causal BRS estimates exhibited similar performances. Baroreflex impairment is associated with post-CABG AKD and both non-causal and causal methods can be exploited to improve risk stratification of AKD after CABG.

Validation of renal-risk models for the prediction of non-renal replacement therapy cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication of cardiac surgery, even when renal replacement therapy (RRT) is not required. The existing risk models for cardiac surgery associated AKI are designed to predict AKI requiring RRT (RRT-AKI). The aim of this study is to validate three risk models for the prediction of RRT-dependent and non-RRT AKI after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Retrospective analysis on 7675 consecutive adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria for stage 1 and 2. RRT AKI and non-RRT AKI were defined according to the need for RRT. Three risk models were validated separately for RRT and non-RRT AKI: the Cleveland Risk Score, the Bedside Risk Score, and the Simplified Renal Index Scoring Scheme. Discrimination power was assessed with Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis and c-statistics. RESULTS: There were 502 (6.5%) non-RRT AKI events, 128 (1.7%) RRT-AKI events, and 7045 (91.8%) no-events. The three models performed well for predicting RRT-AKI (c-statistics 0.75-0.79) and poorly for predicting non-RRT AKI (c-statistics 0.54-0.59). The models had an excellent calibration for RRT-AKI but not for non-RRT AKI. Preoperative serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate were associated with RRT AKI but not with non-RRT AKI. Mortality was 12.2% in non-RRT AKI and 46.9% in RRT-AKI, significantly (P = 0.001) higher than in patients without AKI (1.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The existing risk models are inadequate for predicting non-RRT AKI following cardiac surgery, both in terms of discrimination and calibration.

Correction: Baroreflex sensitivity and outcomes following coronary surgery.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175008.].

Model-based directional analysis of cardiovascular variability identifies patients developing atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) might be favored by cardiovascular control impairment. We hypothesize that cardiovascular regulation indexes derived from directional model-based analysis of the spontaneous fluctuations of heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) can identify subjects at risk to develop AF after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS: Beat-to-beat HP and SAP series were derived from electrocardiogram (ECG) and invasive arterial pressure recorded for 5 min just before CABG surgery in conscious condition. The group comprised subjects who did develop AF (AF, n = 37, 71 ±â€¯8 years, 27 males) or did not (noAF, n = 92, 65 ±â€¯10 years, 85 males). From HP and SAP variabilities we computed classical time-domain, spectral, cross-spectral and complexity indexes characterizing autonomic function and cardiac baroreflex control. Moreover, we performed model-based directional analysis assessing the gain and strength of the relations from SAP to HP along cardiac baroreflex feedback and from HP to SAP along the feedforward pathway while disambiguating the effect of respiration as estimated from respiratory-related ECG modulations. RESULTS: Classical HP and SAP variability indexes and baroreflex sensitivity could not separate AF from noAF individuals. Causality markers, and more specifically, the strength of the dynamical interactions from SAP to HP and vice versa, could distinguish the two groups: indeed, AFs have a lower degree of association from SAP to HP and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: An impairment of the feedforward and feedback arms of the HP-SAP closed loop relation predisposes subjects undergoing CABG surgery to develop postoperative AF. PERSPECTIVES: Competency in medical knowledge: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a frequent complication after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery lengthening hospitalization duration and increasing healthcare system costs. Translational outlook 1: CABG patients who developed AF had a less preserved cardiovascular interactions due to less active physiological control mechanisms as resulting from the lower degree of dependence of systolic arterial pressure on heart period and vice versa before CABG surgery. Translational outlook 2: Cardiovascular control markers improve stratification of the AF risk after CABG surgery above and beyond more traditional demographic and clinical indexes.

Comparison of Different Strategies to Assess Cardiac Baroreflex Sensitivity Based on Transfer Function Technique in Patients Undergoing General Anesthesia.

Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) can be noninvasively assessed from heart period (HP) and arterial pressure (AP) variability series via the estimation of the gain of the transfer function (TF) in the low frequency (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) band. However, different strategies can be adopted to pick the value of the TF gain and different fiducial AP values can be considered. In this study we compared different strategies to reduce the TF gain into a unique maker: i) sampling the TF gain in correspondence of the maximum of the HP-AP squared coherence; ii) sampling the TF gain at the weighted average of the central frequencies of AP spectral components; iii) calculating the average of the TF gain in the LF band. Indexes were computed using alternatively systolic AP (SAP) or diastolic AP (DAP) series in combination with HP. Results were obtained in 129 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery before (PRE) and after (POST) the induction of general anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil. The reduction of BRS during general anesthesia is expected as a result of overall depression of the cardiovascular control even in this group of pathological subjects already featuring a low BRS before general anesthesia induction. We found that the expected decrease of BRS was observed regardless of the strategy using DAP. Moreover, regardless of series (i.e., SAP or DAP), the sampling of TF gain at the weighted average of the central frequencies of the AP spectral components has the greatest statistical power in distinguishing the two experimental conditions. We recommend the use of this strategy in assessing BRS via TF analysis and a more frequent exploitation of the DAP series.

Separating arterial pressure increases and decreases in assessing cardiac baroreflex sensitivity via sequence and bivariate phase-rectified signal averaging techniques.

Cardiac baroreflex (cBR) is activated by both arterial pressure (AP) increases and decreases. Sequence method, a widely utilized tool assessing cBR sensitivity (cBRS) from spontaneous heart period (HP) and systolic AP (SAP) variations, allows the separated computation of cBRS from positive and negative SAP variations. The recently proposed phase-rectified signal averaging (PRSA) method has the same feature but it has been applied so far solely to positive SAP variations. We adapted the PRSA method to compute cBRS over negative SAP variations and we compared the results with those derived from sequence method over two protocols: (i) graded head-up tilt (HUT) at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75° in 19 healthy subjects and (ii) general anesthesia induction in 118 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Regardless of the sign of SAP changes and method, cBRS moved toward 0 during HUT. Only sequence method detected the cBRS decrease after general anesthesia induction. In both protocols, the correlation between the PRSA-based cBRSs derived from positive and negative SAP changes was higher than that obtained from analogous sequence-based cBRSs and correlation between equivalent cBRSs derived from different methods might be absent. We conclude that the two methods are not interchangeable in assessing cBRS. Graphical abstract Graphical representation of the baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) estimation procedures carried out using sequence (SEQ) and phase-rectified signal averaging (PRSA) techniques over spontaneous fluctuations of heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP). BRSSEQ and BRSPRSA was separately computed over positive (+) and negative (-) SAP variations.

Goal-directed perfusion to reduce acute kidney injury: A randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a goal-directed perfusion (GDP) strategy aimed at maintaining oxygen delivery (DO2) at ≥280 mL·min-1·m-2 reduces the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: This multicenter randomized trial enrolled a total of 350 patients undergoing cardiac surgery in 9 institutions. Patients were randomized to receive either GDP or conventional perfusion. A total of 326 patients completed the study and were analyzed. Patients in the treatment arm were treated with a GDP strategy during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) aimed to maintain DO2 at ≥280 mL·min-1·m-2. The perfusion strategy for patients in the control arm was factored on body surface area and temperature. The primary endpoint was the rate of AKI. Secondary endpoints were intensive care unit length of stay, major morbidity, red blood cell transfusions, and operative mortality. RESULTS: Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) stage 1 was reduced in patients treated with GDP (relative risk [RR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.25-0.83; P = .01). AKIN stage 2-3 did not differ between the 2 study arms (RR, 1.66; 95% CI, 0.46-6.0; P = .528). There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes. In a prespecified analysis of patients with a CPB time between 1 and 3 hours, the differences in favor of the treatment arm were more pronounced, with an RR for AKI of 0.49 (95% CI, 0.27-0.89; P = .017). CONCLUSIONS: A GDP strategy is effective in reducing AKIN stage 1 AKI. Further studies are needed to define perfusion interventions that may reduce more severe levels of renal injury (AKIN stage 2 or 3).