Platelet Dysfunction in Cardiac Surgery: When is the Best Time to Assess It? An Observational Single Center Study.

Purpose. Cardiac surgery is characterized by a high risk of complications related to perioperative bleeding. Guidelines suggest the use of local algorithms based on perioperative point-of-care tests to assess and manage potential coagulation abnormalities. We investigated whether heparin reversal administration affects the adenosine-5-diphosphate (ADP) test values, thus identifying the earliest time point following cardio-pulmonary bypass that permits the promptest detection and treatment of potential platelet dysfunctions. Methods. This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study enrolling cardiac surgery patients requiring cardiac bypass. ADP-tests at 4 different time-points during surgery (T0: baseline, T1: at aortic de-clamping, T2: 10 minutes after protamine administration, and T3: at the end of surgery) were performed. Results. 63 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were studied. Baseline ADP-test values were almost constantly greater than intraoperative values, and end of surgery values were often greater than previous intraoperative values. The only difference that proved to be not statistically significant was between T1 and T2, with a clinically insignificant mean difference of -.2 U (95%CI of difference: -6.9 - 6.5 U). There was no correlation between the variation in ADP-test values pre- and post-protamine administration and the protamine-to-heparin ratio. Conclusion. The results of the present study support the hypothesis that the ADP-test could be performed early, at aortic de-clamping before protamine administration. This approach allows for the promptest assessment of a potential impairment in platelet function, and its timely correction.

Multiple Electrode Aggregometry After Cardiopulmonary Bypass to Assess Platelet (Dys)-Function and Transfusion Threshold: A Concordance Study.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac surgery patients have a high risk of postoperative bleeding. Historically, the platelet count has been one of the main parameters used to establish the need for platelet transfusions, and the recent introduction of point-of-care tests for platelet function has allowed clinicians to rationalize platelet transfusion needs by assessing the platelet (dys-)function of the patient. For the present study, the authors evaluated how the introduction of one of these systems-the adenosine diphosphate (ADP) test, performed using a Multiplate electrode analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland)-into their clinical practice had modified their platelet transfusion practice. The relationship between the platelet count and the functional evaluation of platelet aggregation (via the ADP test) also was examined. DESIGN: This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study. SETTING: Cardiac surgery department of a tertiary care center in North-east Italy. PARTICIPANTS: Cardiac surgery patients requiring cardiac bypass in 2017 and 2019. INTERVENTIONS: The primary outcome was to compare platelet transfusion practice before and after the implementation of a platelet function test (the ADP test) into the institution's transfusion algorithm, which replaced the platelet count as the trigger. Secondary outcomes were assessing whether the incorporation of the ADP test into their transfusion algorithm brought about a reduction in the frequency of platelet transfusions compared with previous rates (when only platelets counts were used); assessing patient blood loss in the first 12 postoperative hours; and ascertaining the percentage of patients requiring surgical reexplorations. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The study comprised 110 patients undergoing cardiac surgery from the platelet count period (2017) and 110 patients from the ADP test period (2019). Agreement between platelet counts versus ADP tests in determining the need for platelet transfusion was moderate (κ = 0.483; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.239-0.728), and the general linear regression relationship between platelet counts and the ADP test (Akaike information criterion = 2536; p < 0.001) was determined. Since the introduction of ADP testing, a highly significant reduction in platelet transfusions has occurred: 41.82% (platelet count period) versus 13.64% (ADP test period) (p < 0.001); average blood loss in the 12 hours postsurgery also was less in the ADP test period (p < 0.001) at 300 mL (95% CI 150-730) compared with 440 mL in the platelet count period (95% CI 135-900). Furthermore, a decreasing trend was observed in the number of patients requiring reexploration to optimize hemostasis in the first 12 hours postsurgery (6.36% v 2.73%); however, this trend did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.195). CONCLUSION: The application of new Multiplate analyzer technologies, like the ADP test, have the potential to reduce platelet transfusion rates in cardiac surgery patients compared with the use of platelet counts alone; this point-of-care test may constitute an important strategy to help spare the use of allogeneic blood products. Additional studies are needed to confirm this trend and establish the best cutoff values to apply.

Airway management in anesthesia for thoracic surgery: a "real life" observational study.

BACKGROUND: One-lung ventilation (OLV) in thoracic anesthesia is required to provide good surgical exposure. OLV is commonly achieved through a double lumen tube (DLT) or a bronchial blocker (BB). Malposition is a relevant issue related to these devices use. No prospective studies with adequately large sample size have been performed to evaluate the malposition rate of DLTs and BBs. METHODS: A total of 2,127 patients requiring OLV during thoracic surgery were enrolled. The aim of this multicenter prospective observational study performed across 26 academic and community hospitals is to evaluate intraoperative malposition rate of DLTs and BBs. We also aim to assess: which device is the most used to achieve OLV, the frequency of bronchoscope (BRO) use, the incidence rate of desaturation during OLV and the role of other factors that can correlate to this event, and incidence of difficult airway. RESULTS: Malposition rate for DLTs was 14%, for BBs 33%. DLTs were used in 95% of patients and BBs in 5%. Mean positioning time was shorter for DLT than BB (156±230 vs. 321±290 s). BRO was used in 54% of patients to check the correct positioning of the DLT. Desaturation occurred in 20% of all cases during OLV achieved through a DLT. Predicting factors of desaturation were dislocation (OR 2.03) and big size of DLT (OR 1.15). BRO use (OR 0.69) and left surgical side (OR 0.41) proved to be protective factors. Difficult airway prevalence was 16%; 10.8% predicted and 5.2% unpredicted. CONCLUSIONS: DLT has a low malpositioning rate and is the preferred device to achieve OLV. BRO use recorded was unexpectedly low. The possibility of encountering a difficult airway is frequent, with an overall prevalence of 16%. Risk factors of desaturation are malposition and increased size of DLT. Left procedures and BRO use could lead to fewer episodes of desaturation.

Survey of thoracic anesthetic practice in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: The object of this study was to conduct and analyze the output of a survey involving a cohort of all Italian hospitals performing thoracic surgery to gather data on anesthetic management, one-lung ventilation (OLV) management, and post-thoracotomy pain relief in thoracic anesthesia. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Italy. PARTICIPANTS: An invitation to participate in the survey was e-mailed to all the members of the Italian Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 62 responses were received from 47 centers. The key findings were: Double-lumen tube is still the first choice lung separation technique in current use; pressure-controlled ventilation and volume-controlled ventilation modes are homogenously distributed across the sample and, a tidal volumes (VT) of 4-6 mL/kg during OLV was preferred to all others; moderate or restrictive fluid management were the most used strategies of fluid administration in thoracic anesthesia; thoracic epidural analgesia represented the "gold standard" for post-thoracotomy pain relief in combination with intravenous analgesia. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey showed that Italian anesthesiologist follow the recommended standard of care for anesthetic management during OLV.