The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights From 2023.

This special article is the 16th in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the editor-in-chief, Dr. Kaplan, and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series, namely the research highlights of the past year in the specialty of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology. The major themes selected for 2023 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main article. The literature highlights in the specialty for 2023 begin with an update on perioperative rehabilitation in cardiothoracic surgery, with a focus on novel methods to best assess patients in the preoperative and postoperative periods, and the impact of rehabilitation on outcomes. The second major theme is focused on cardiac surgery, with the authors discussing new insights into inhaled pulmonary vasodilators, coronary revascularization surgery, and discussion of causes of coronary graft failure after surgery. The third theme is focused on cardiothoracic transplantation, with discussions focusing on bridge-to-transplantation strategies. The fourth theme is focused on mechanical circulatory support, with discussions focusing on both temporary and durable support. The fifth and final theme is an update on medical cardiology, with a focus on outcomes of invasive approaches to heart disease. The themes selected for this article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialty during 2023. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on various topics, leading to improved perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights from 2022.

This special article is the 15th in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the editor-in-chief Dr. Kaplan and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series, namely the research highlights of the past year in the specialties of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology. The major themes selected for 2022 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main body of the article. The literature highlights, in the specialties for 2022, begin with an update on COVID-19 therapies, with a focus on the temporal updates in a wide range of therapies, progressing from medical to the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and, ultimately, with lung transplantation in this high-risk group. The second major theme is focused on medical cardiology, with the authors discussing new insights into the life cycle of coronary disease, heart failure treatments, and outcomes related to novel statin therapy. The third theme is focused on mechanical circulatory support, with discussions focusing on both right-sided and left-sided temporary support outcomes and the optimal timing of deployment. The fourth and final theme is an update on cardiac surgery, with a discussion of the diverse aspects of concomitant valvular surgery and the optimal approach to procedural treatment for coronary artery disease. The themes selected for this 15th special article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialties during 2022. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on a variety of topics, leading to the improvement of perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights from 2021.

This special article is the fourteenth in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Kaplan, and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series; namely, the research highlights of the past year in the specialty of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology. The major themes selected for 2021 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main body of the article. The literature highlights in the specialty for 2021 begin with an update on structural heart disease, with a focus on updates in arrhythmia and aortic valve disorders. The second major theme is an update on coronary artery disease, with discussion of both medical and procedural management. The third major theme is focused on the perioperative management of patients with COVID-19, with the authors highlighting literature discussing the impact of the disease on the right ventricle and thromboembolic events. The fourth and final theme is an update in heart failure, with discussion of diverse aspects of this area. The themes selected for this fourteenth special article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialty during 2021. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on a variety of topics, leading to improvement of perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights from 2020.

THIS SPECIAL article is the 13th in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the editor-in-chief, Dr Kaplan, and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series; namely, the research highlights of the past year in the specialty of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology.1 The major themes selected for 2020 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main body of the article. The literature highlights in the specialty for 2020 begin with an update on valvular disease, with a focus on updates in management of aortic and mitral valve disorders. The second major theme is an update on coronary artery disease, with discussion of both medical and surgical management. The third major theme is focused on the perioperative management of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with the authors highlighting literature discussing medical, surgical, and anesthetic considerations for their cardiac care. The fourth major theme is an update in heart failure, with discussion of medical, psychosocial, and procedural aspects of this complicated disease process. The fifth and final theme focuses on the latest analyses regarding survival in heart transplantation. The themes selected for this 13th special article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialty during 2020. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on a variety of topics, leading to improvement of perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in severe influenza infection with respiratory failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been extensively used for potentially reversible acute respiratory failure associated with severe influenza A (H1N1) pneumonia; however, it remains an expensive, resource-intensive therapy, with a high associated mortality. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to summarize and pool outcomes data available in the published literature to guide clinical decision-making and further research. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE (1966 to April 15, 2015), EMBASE (1980 to April 15, 2015), CENTRAL, and Google Scholar for patients with severe H1N1 pneumonia and respiratory failure who received ECMO. The study validity was appraised by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The secondary outcomes were duration of ECMO therapy, mechanical ventilation, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) length of stay. RESULTS: Of 698 abstracts screened and 142 full-text articles reviewed, we included 13 studies with a total of 494 patients receiving ECMO in our final review and meta-analysis. The study validity was satisfactory. The overall mortality was 37.1% (95% confidence interval: 30-45%) limited by underlying heterogeneity (I2 = 65%, P value of Q statistic = 0.006). The median duration for ECMO was 10 days, mechanical ventilation was 19 days, and ICU length of stay was 33 days. Exploratory meta-regression did not identify any statistically significant moderator of mortality (P < 0.05), except for the duration of pre-ECMO mechanical ventilation in days (coefficient 0.19, standard error: 0.09, Z = 2.01, P < 0.04, R2 = 0.16). The visual inspection of funnel plots did not suggest the presence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO therapy may be used as an adjunct or salvage therapy for severe H1N1 pneumonia with respiratory failure. It is associated with a prolonged duration of ventilator support, ICU length of stay, and high mortality. Initiating ECMO early once the patient has been instituted on mechanical ventilation may result in improved survival.

N-terminal pro B type natriuretic peptide in high cardiovascular-risk patients for noncardiac surgery: What is the current prognostic evidence?

As millions of surgical procedures are performed worldwide on an aging population with multiple comorbidities, accurate and simple perioperative risk stratification is critical. The cardiac biomarker, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), has generated considerable interest as it is easy to obtain and appears to have powerful predictive and prognostic capabilities. BNP is currently being used to guide medical therapy for heart failure and has been added to several algorithms for perioperative risk stratification. This review examines the current evidence for the use of BNP in the perioperative period in patients who are at high-cardiovascular risk for noncardiac surgery. In addition, we examined the use of BNP in patients with pulmonary embolism and left ventricular assist devices. The available data strongly suggest that the addition of BNP to perioperative risk calculators is beneficial; however, whether this determination of risk will impact outcomes, remains to be seen.

Troponin elevations in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease: An analysis of current evidence and significance.

Serum troponin elevation above the 99th percentile of the upper reference limit in healthy subjects (<0.01 ng/ml measured using currently available high-sensitivity cardiac troponin laboratory assays) is required to establish the diagnosis the diagnosis of myocardial necrosis in acute cardiovascular syndromes, as well as guide prognosis and therapy. In the perioperative period, for patients with cardiac disease undergoing noncardiac surgery, it is a particularly critical biomarker universally used to assess the myocardial damage. The value of troponin testing and elevation (as well as its significance) in patients with chronic cardiac valvular, vascular, and renal disease is relatively less well understood. This evidence-based review seeks to examine the currently available data assessing the significance of troponin elevation in certain chronic valvular and other disease states.