Preoperative endothelial dysfunction for the prediction of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass: a pilot study based on a second analysis of the MONS study.

BACKGROUND: Up to 42% of patients develop acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between preoperative microcirculatory function and postoperative AKI after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: The prospective observational cohort MONS enrolled 60 patients scheduled for valvular (n = 30, 50%) or coronary (n = 30, 50%) surgery using CPB. Preoperative microcirculation was assessed during preoperative consultation from January 2019 to April 2019 at the University Hospital of Angers, France, using endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent reactivity tests on the forearm (iontophoresis of acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), respectively). Skin blood flow was measured by laser speckle contrast imaging. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of AKI according to the KDIGO classification during the hospital stay. RESULTS: Forty-three (71.7%) patients developed AKI during the in-hospital follow-up, and 15 (25%) were classified as KDIGO stage 1, 20 (33%) KDIGO stage 2, and 8 (13%) KDIGO stage 3. Regarding preoperative microcirculation, a higher peak amplitude of vasodilation in response to iontophoresis of ACh was found in patients with postoperative occurrence of AKI (35 [20-49] vs 23 [9-44] LSPU, p = 0.04). Iontophoresis of SNP was not significantly different according to AKI occurrence (34 [22-49] vs 36 [20-50] LSPU, p = 0.95). In a multivariable model, the preoperative peak amplitude at iontophoresis of ACh was independently associated with postoperative AKI (OR 1.045 [1.001-1.092], p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative peak amplitude of endothelium-dependent vasodilation is independently associated with the postoperative occurrence of AKI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical-Trials.gov, NCT03631797. Registered 15 August 2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03631797.

Hemoperfusion: Indications, Dose, Prescription.

Recent advances in the development of sorbent materials have enabled the development of hemoperfusion (HP). However, HP dose and prescription are not standardized and there is no consensus in clinical practice guidelines. Adequate prescription and modality are of utmost importance to ensure HP effectiveness. Although the main indication of CytoSorb®, HA330/380, polymyxin B, and Seraph® is sepsis, these devices may be beneficial in many other situations such as liver failure, rhabdomyolysis, pancreatitis, cardiopulmonary bypass, extensive burns, and trauma or to ensure antiplatelet therapy drug removal. They can be applied as stand-alone therapies or combined with renal replacement therapy. The usual prescribed blood flow varies between 100 and 700 mL/min. CytoSorb® sessions usually last 24 h and may be repeated up to 7 days, whereas HA330/380, polymyxin B, and Seraph® sessions usually last between 2 and 4 h and are repeated up to 3 days. Current clinical data are lacking to establish the optimal operating conditions of HP and studies focusing on defining the optimal timing, dose, and duration of these therapies could help define future clinical applications.

Association of preoperative COVID-19 and postoperative respiratory morbidity during the Omicron epidemic wave: the DROMIS-22 multicentre prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Preoperative COVID-19 has been associated with excess postoperative morbi-mortality. Consequently, guidelines were developed that recommended the postponement of surgery for at least 7 weeks after the infection. We hypothesised that vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 and the large predominance of the Omicron variant attenuated the effect of a preoperative COVID-19 on the occurrence of postoperative respiratory morbidity. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in 41 French centres between 15 March and 30 May 2022 (ClinicalTrials NCT05336110), aimed at comparing the postoperative respiratory morbidity between patients with and without preoperative COVID-19 within 8 weeks prior to surgery. The primary outcome was a composite outcome combining the occurrence of pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, unexpected mechanical ventilation, and pulmonary embolism within the first 30 postoperative days. Secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality, hospital length-of-stay, readmissions, and non-respiratory infections. The sample size was determined to have 90% power to identify a doubling of the primary outcome rate. Adjusted analyses were performed using propensity score modelling and inverse probability weighting. Findings: Of the 4928 patients assessed for the primary outcome, of whom 92.4% were vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2, 705 had preoperative COVID-19. The primary outcome was reported in 140 (2.8%) patients. An 8-week preoperative COVID-19 was not associated with increased postoperative respiratory morbidity (odds ratio 1.08 [95% CI 0.48-2.13]; p = 0.83). None of the secondary outcomes differed between the two groups. Sensitivity analyses concerning the timing between COVID-19 and surgery, and the clinical presentations of preoperative COVID-19 did not show any association with the primary outcome, except for COVID-19 patients with ongoing symptoms the day of surgery (OR 4.29 [1.02-15.8]; p = 0.04). Interpretation: In our Omicron-predominant, highly immunised population undergoing general surgery, a preoperative COVID-19 was not associated with increased postoperative respiratory morbidity. Funding: The study was fully funded by the French Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (SFAR).

Postoperative prophylactic intermittent noninvasive ventilation versus usual postoperative care for patients at high risk of pulmonary complications: a multicentre randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary complications are an important cause of morbidity and mortality after surgery. We evaluated the clinical effectiveness of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in preventing postoperative acute respiratory failure. METHODS: This is an open, multicentre randomised trial that included patients at high risk of postoperative pulmonary complications after elective or semi-urgent surgery with an Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) score ≥45. Patients were randomly assigned to intermittent prophylactic face-mask NIV for 6-8 h day-1 or usual postoperative care. The primary outcome was in-hospital acute respiratory failure within 7 days after surgery. Patients who underwent surgery and postoperative extubation were included in the modified intended-to-treat analysis. Results are presented as n (%) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Between November 2017 and October 2019, 266 patients were randomised and 253 included in the main analysis. Of these, 203 (80.2%) were male with a mean age of 68 (11) yr and an ARISCAT score of 53 (6); 237 subjects (93.7%) underwent cardiac or thoracic surgery. There were 125 patients allocated to prophylactic NIV and 128 to usual care. Unplanned treatment termination occurred in 58 subjects in the NIV group, which was linked to NIV discomfort for 36 subjects. There was no difference in the incidence of the primary outcome of postoperative acute respiratory failure between treatment groups (NIV: 30 of 125 subjects [24.0%] vs usual care: 35 of 128 subjects [27.3%]; OR 0.97 [0.90-1.04]; P=0.54). CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic NIV was difficult to implement after high-risk surgery because of low patient compliance. Prophylactic NIV did not prevent acute respiratory failure. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03629431 and EudraCT 2017-001011-36.

Effects of opioid-free anesthesia on postoperative morphine consumption after bariatric surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine whether postoperative morphine requirement in obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery was reduced by opioid-free anesthesia (OFA), as compared to an anesthetic strategy using opioids (opioid balanced anesthesia (OBA)) and to investigate the differences that may exist between the use of clonidine and dexmedetomidine in the context of OFA. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Academic medical center in Lyon, France. PATIENTS: 257 patients who underwent laparoscopic bariatric surgery between March 2017 and March 2019. 77 patients were included in the OBA group and 180 in the OFA group. The OFA group was subdivided in two: 90 patients received OFA with clonidine (OFAC) and 90 received OFA with dexmedetomidine (OFAD). MEASUREMENTS: Proportion of patients who did not receive morphine during the first 24 postoperative hours. MAIN RESULTS: During the first 24 postoperative hours, the proportion of patients who did not require morphine was significantly higher in the OFA (87%) than in the OBA (52%) group (OR: 6.31; 95% CI [3.38; 11.80], P < 0.001). This difference remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, sex, type and duration of surgery (OR: 7.99; 95% CI [4.05; 16.48], P < 0.001). A greater proportion of patients in the OFAD (93%) than in the OFAC group (81%, P = 0.026) did not receive morphine during the same period. CONCLUSIONS: OFA is associated with a lower morphine requirement than with OBA during the first 24 h after bariatric surgery. In addition, OFAD seems to be more effective than OFAC in order to reduce morphine consumption.

Comparison between conventional duplex ultrasonography and the dual-gate Doppler mode for hemodynamic measurements of the carotid arteries.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the correlations of hemodynamic parameters measured to quantify stenosis between the gold-standard duplex ultrasonography and the dual-gate Doppler mode. METHODS: Patients examined due to suspicion of carotid artery stenosis or for surveillance of known stenosis were invited to participate in this prospective single-center study. Upon acceptance, the hemodynamic characteristics of the carotid arteries were determined successively in standard duplex and dual-gate Doppler modes. The correlations between the two modes were analyzed by computing Pearson coefficients (r2) and Lin concordance coefficients (ρc). The degree of agreement between the two methods was visualized using Bland-Altman graphical representations. RESULTS: The correlation between internal carotid artery peak systolic velocity measured by standard duplex ultrasonography and dual-gate Doppler mode was good (r2=0.642). The same high level of correlation was observed for the carotid ratio (r2=0.544). However, the Bland-Altman graphical representation and the Lin concordance coefficients (ρc=0.75 and ρc=0.74 for the internal carotid artery peak systolic velocity and carotid ratio, respectively) showed that a lack of precision generated some discrepancies between the two measurement methods. CONCLUSION: Although some discrepancies were observed, the hemodynamic measurements were closely correlated between the two ultrasonography modes. Therefore, the dual-gate Doppler mode may have obvious advantages over conventional ultrasonography, offering interesting development possibilities.

Safety of changes in the use of noninvasive ventilation and high flow oxygen therapy on reintubation in a surgical intensive care unit: A retrospective cohort study.

Reintubation after weaning from mechanical ventilation is relatively common and is associated with poor outcomes. Different methods to decrease the reintubation rate post extubation, including noninvasive ventilation, and more recently high-flow oxygen (HFO) therapy, have been proposed. In this study, we aimed to assess the safety of introducing HFO in the post-extubation care of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We conducted a single-center cohort study of extubated adult patients hospitalized in a surgical ICU and previously mechanically ventilated for > 1 day. Our study consisted of two phases: Phase 1 (before the introduction of HFO from April 2015 to April 2016) and Phase P2 (after the introduction of HFO from April 2017 to April 2018). The primary endpoint was the reintubation rate within 48 hours of extubation. In total, 290 patients (median age 65 years [50-74]; 190 men [65.5%]) were included in the analysis (181 and 109 in Phases 1 and 2, respectively). The results of the post-extubation use of noninvasive methods (noninvasive ventilation and/or HFO) were not significantly different between the two phases (41 [22.7%] versus 29 [26.6%] patients; p = 0.480), however these methods were implemented earlier in Phase 2 (0 versus 4 hours; p = 0.009) and HFO was used significantly more often than noninvasive ventilation (24 [22.0%] versus 25 [13.8%] patients; p = 0.039). The need for reintubation within 48 hours post extubation was significantly lower in Phase 2 (4 [3.7%] versus 20 [11.0%] patients; p = 0.028) but was not significantly different at 7 days post extubation (10 [9.2%] versus 30 [16.6%] patients; p = 0.082). The earlier implementation of noninvasive methods and the increased use of HFO beginning in Phase 2 were safe and effective based on the reintubation rates within the first 48 hours post extubation and after 7 days.

Preoperative endothelial dysfunction in cutaneous microcirculation is associated with postoperative organ injury after cardiac surgery using extracorporeal circulation: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery is known to induce acute endothelial dysfunction, which may be central to the pathophysiology of postoperative complications. Preoperative endothelial dysfunction could also be implicated in the pathophysiology of postoperative complications after cardiac surgery. However, the relationship between preoperative endothelial function and postoperative outcomes remains unknown. The primary objective was to describe the relationship between a preoperative microcirculatory dysfunction identified by iontophoresis of acetylcholine (ACh), and postoperative organ injury in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery using CPB were included in the analysis of a prospective, observational, single-center cohort study conducted from January to April 2019. Preoperative microcirculation was assessed with reactivity tests on the forearm (iontophoresis of ACh and nitroprusside). Skin blood flow was measured by laser speckle contrast imaging. Postoperative organ injury, the primary outcome, was defined as a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (SOFA) 48 h after surgery greater than 3. RESULTS: Organ injury at 48 h occurred in 29 cases (48.3%). Patients with postoperative organ injury (SOFA score > 3 at 48 h) had a longer time to reach the peak of preoperative iontophoresis of acetylcholine (133 s [104-156] vs 98 s [76-139] than patients without, P = 0.016), whereas endothelium-independent vasodilation to nitroprusside was similar in both groups. Beyond the proposed threshold of 105 s for time to reach the peak of preoperative endothelium-dependent vasodilation, three times more patients presented organ dysfunction at 48 h (76% vs 24% below or equal 105 s). In multivariable model, the time to reach the peak during iontophoresis of acetylcholine was an independent predictor of postoperative organ injury (odds ratio = 4.81, 95% confidence interval [1.16-19.94]; P = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who postoperatively developed organ injury (SOFA score > 3 at 48 h) had preoperatively a longer time to reach the peak of endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Trial registration Clinical-Trials.gov, NCT03631797. Registered 15 August 2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03631797.

Physiological, cognitive and neuromuscular effects of heat exposure on firefighters after a live training scenario.

This study investigated physiological, cognitive and neuromuscular performances in firefighters after a structural live-fire scenario. Changes in vital signs, environmental parameters and cognitive and neuromuscular performance were measured before and after a live-fire training session in a closed environment, in conditions similar to those one could encounter in a structural fire. Very high ambient temperature peaks were reached during the 30-min sessions. After the session, the forehead temperature was increased by 0.5 °C, mean water body loss was 639 ml and the mean heart rate increase was 7.5 bpm. Mental calculation speed did not vary significantly, however we observed a reduction in reaction time. These findings demonstrated that after 30 min of exposure, heat stress had little impact on firemen. Stress activation seems beneficial after firefighting operations. Normal vital parameters should allow re-engagement for a second firefighting task. This result must be compared with longer exposures.

French firefighters exposure to Benzo[a]pyrene after simulated structure fires.

INTRODUCTION: Firefighters have occupational exposure to toxic compounds during firefighting, but not only. Surface contamination of equipment has never been studied in French firefighters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study measured the surface load in benzo [a]pyrene (BaP), a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, on the outer surface of fire jackets, personal protective equipment and tools used by firefighters after a live fire training in a closed environment. The effectiveness of a standard jacket washing procedure on BaP contamination was assessed. RESULTS: A single training session was responsible for a BaP deposit of 113.75 ±â€¯45.03µg/m2 on exposed fire jacket material. After a single session, the deposit of BaP found on PPE and tools was measured on different surfaces ranged from 12 to 157 µg/m2. After multiple training sessions, a cumulative effect was suspected. The current PPE cleaning and maintenance procedures does not appear to effectively reduce contamination. CONCLUSION: French firefighters' exposure during in a live-fire training session in fire simulator is responsible for exposure to BaP. The estimated load of BaP on the outer surface of fire jackets could potentially have acute and chronic effects if absorbed in one's body. Further studies are needed to better understand individual French firefighters' exposure and determine appropriate measures to prevent contamination. It will be also be necessary find maintenance procedures that significantly reduce the BaP load.

Pneumococcal urinary antigen test: A tool for pneumococcal aortitis diagnosis?

Introduction: Aortitis is rare. The etiological diagnosis is difficult but essential for treatment. Even with appropriate treatment mortality remains high. We present a case of pneumococcal aortitis followed by a brief review of the literature. Presentation of Case: In this case, the aortic disease was characterized by multiple inflammatory aneurysms. Blood cultures were negative but urine was tested for the presence of pneumococcal urinary antigen postoperatively was positive. Treatment consisted of antibacterial therapy and both surgical and endovascular procedures. The patient was discharged and is well. Discussion: Preoperative determination of etiology is crucial in implementing a specific treatment. Pneumococcus is a common bacterium in infectious aortitis. Identification of the causative microbe is necessary to guide antimicrobial therapy. Blood cultures are frequently sterile. The pneumococcal urinary antigen test may be more sensitive than blood cultures, as is the case in pneumococcal pneumonia. Conclusions: The pneumococcal urinary antigen test may was a useful diagnostic tool in establishing the cause for aortitis in this case. Its potential value should be assessed in furthers studies.