Effects of capnometry monitoring during recovery in the post-anaesthesia care unit: a randomized controlled trial in adults (CAPNOSSPI).

PURPOSE: Continuous capnography should be used on patients admitted to post-anaesthesia care units (PACUs) with endotracheal tubes, but this monitoring is not always performed. Optimized ventilation in the PACU could be part of the global standards of practice to maintain the benefits of perioperative ventilation. The main objective was to study the rate of patients with alveolar hypoventilation before tracheal extubation or Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) removal upon the measurement of continuous capnography. METHODS: In this prospective, parallel-group, randomized controlled study, we enrolled adult patients admitted to the PACU after general anaesthesia with an endotracheal tube or LMA in place. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: in the Capno + group, nurses managed the patients with access to the capnometer and end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure (PETCO2) measurements; in the Capno- group, nurses monitored the patients without seeing PETCO2 measurements. The primary outcome was the percentage of patients with PETCO2 measurements above 45 mm Hg during the minute before extubation. Secondary endpoints included the delay in recovering spontaneous breathing, rate of hypoxemia, delay before extubation, and length of stay in the PACU. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were randomized into the two groups. The percentage of patients with PETCO2 > 45 mm Hg the minute before extubation was significantly decreased in the Capno + group (83.3% versus 54,1% in the Capno- and Capno + groups respectively, p = 0.029). There were no significant differences concerning secondary endpoints. CONCLUSIONS: The use of PETCO2 monitoring improves patient safety by decreasing the incidence of CO2 retention during recovery from general anaesthesia. This study suggests that this monitoring should be integrated in the PACU. The risk of hypoxemia can also be prevented through the early recognition of apnoea. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: clinicaltrial.gov. identifier: NCT03370081.

A combined approach for the early recognition of acute kidney injury after adult cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a frequent complication. The current criteria to detect CSA-AKI rise only when organic dysfunction has occurred. The Doppler Renal Resistive Index (RRI) and the urinary G1 cell cycle arrest proteins (TIMP-2 and IGFBP7) have been advocated to predict CSA-AKI at an early stage after cardiac surgery. The primary objective was to determine the predictive value of these new markers to detect CSA-AKI after elective heart surgery in patients at risk to develop AKI. METHODS: In a prospective observational trial, we studied 50 patients scheduled for elective on-pump heart surgery at high risk for CSA-AKI. The primary outcome was the incidence of AKI according to the KDIGO criteria recording the urine output every hour until ICU discharge and measuring the serum creatinine levels on each postoperative day until the post-procedure peak values were reached or until the 7th postoperative day. The RRI and the urinary proteins [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] were measured concomitantly: before surgery, 1hour (H1), 4-hour (H4), 12-hour (H12), and 24-hour (H24) after surgery. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (74%) developed CSA-AKI. Urinary [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] at H12 were significantly higher in patients that developed AKI (0.62, [interquartile] [0.20-1.18] vs. 0.30 [0.07-0.47] P=0.044) with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.69 [0.53-0.84]. The best sensitivity (65%) and specificity (62%) was achieved for a cutoff value of 0.3 (ng.mL-1)2.1000-1. The H12 time-point was the only in which the RRI values measured showed a trend toward statistical significance in patients that developed AKI (0.72 (Standard deviation)±(0.06) vs. 0.68±(0.07) P=0.065). The combination of the two markers ([TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7]+RRI) at H12 showed an increased performance of the accuracy with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.78 [0.62-0.93]. CONCLUSIONS: In a population at risk of developing CSA-AKI, neither the RRI nor urinary [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] detect CSA-AKI occurring in the first post-operative week within the first 24 postoperative hours.