Selected 2023 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

This article reviews the highlights of pertinent literature of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist published in 2023. After a search of the US National Library of Medicine PubMed database, several topics emerged where significant contributions were made in 2023. The authors of this article considered the following topics noteworthy to be included in this review: (1) advancements in percutaneous mechanical support in children with congenital heart disease, (2) children with pulmonary hypertension undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease, (3) dexmedetomidine in pediatric cardiac surgery, and (4) recommendations for pediatric heart surgery in the United States: Implications for pediatric cardiac anesthesia.

Selected 2022 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

This article is a review of the highlights of pertinent literature of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist, and was published in 2022. After a search of the United States National Library of Medicine PubMed database, several topics emerged in which significant contributions were made in 2022. The authors of this manuscript considered the following topics noteworthy to be included in this review-intensive care unit admission after congenital cardiac catheterization interventions, antifibrinolytics in pediatric cardiac surgery, the current status of the pediatric cardiac anesthesia workforce in the United States, and kidney injury and renal protection during congenital heart surgery.

Surgical Management and Mechanical Circulatory Support in High-Risk Pulmonary Embolisms: Historical Context, Current Status, and Future Directions: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Acute pulmonary embolism is the third leading cause of cardiovascular death, with most pulmonary embolism-related mortality associated with acute right ventricular failure. Although there has recently been increased clinical attention to acute pulmonary embolism with the adoption of multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response teams, mortality of patients with pulmonary embolism who present with hemodynamic compromise remains high when current guideline-directed therapy is followed. Because historical data and practice patterns affect current consensus treatment recommendations, surgical embolectomy has largely been relegated to patients who have contraindications to other treatments or when other treatment modalities fail. Despite a selection bias toward patients with greater illness, a growing body of literature describes the safety and efficacy of the surgical management of acute pulmonary embolism, especially in the hemodynamically compromised population. The purpose of this document is to describe modern techniques, strategies, and outcomes of surgical embolectomy and venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and to suggest strategies to better understand the role of surgery in the management of pulmonary embolisms.

Selected 2021 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

This article is a review of the highlights of pertinent literature of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist and was published in 2021. After a search of the United States National Library of Medicine PubMed database, several topics emerged where significant contributions were made in 2021. The authors of this manuscript considered the following topics noteworthy to be included in this review: risk stratification in adult congenital heart disease surgery, physician burnout in pediatric cardiac anesthesia, transfusion practice in pediatric congenital heart surgery, and racial disparity and outcomes in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease.

Selected 2020 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

This article is a review of the highlights of pertinent literature published during the 12 months of 2020 that are of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist. After a search of the US National Library of Medicine's PubMed database, several topics emerged for which significant contributions were made in 2020. The authors of the present article considered the following topics noteworthy to be included in this review: pediatric cardiac care in the coronavirus disease 2019 era, the use of mechanical circulatory support in coronavirus disease 2019-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, transfusion and coagulation management in children undergoing congenital heart surgery, and pulmonary vein stenosis.

New-onset intra-operative hyperthermia in a large surgical patient population: A retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Intra-operative hypothermia has been extensively investigated. However, the incidence of intra-operative hyperthermia has not been investigated in detail. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to assess the incidence and risk factors of new-onset intra-operative hyperthermia in a large surgical patient population. DESIGN: Retrospective database review. SETTING: Tertiary-care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Patients undergoing surgery with general anaesthesia between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2017 were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measurement was new-onset intra-operative hyperthermia (>37.5 °C). A logistic regression model was fitted to identify risk factors for intra-operative hyperthermia. RESULTS: A total of 103 648 patients were included in the final analyses. The incidence of new-onset hyperthermia in the overall patient cohort was 6.45%, reaching 20 to 30% after prolonged (>8 h) surgery, and was up to 26.5% in paediatric patients. The use of forced air active patient warming, larger amounts of fluid administration, longer surgery, younger age and smaller body size were all independently associated with intra-operative hyperthermia. The adoption of the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) temperature measures was associated with an increased incidence of intra-operative hyperthermia. CONCLUSION: Mild intra-operative hyperthermia is not uncommon particularly in longer procedures and small children.

Selected 2019 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

This article is a review of the highlights of pertinent literature published in 2019, which is of interest to the pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist. After a search of the United States National Library of Medicine PubMed database, several topics emerged in which significant contributions were made in 2019. The authors of this manuscript considered the following topics noteworthy and were included in this review: advances in pediatric heart transplantation, blood management in pediatric cardiac surgery, the impact of nutrition on outcomes in congenital heart surgery, and the use of vasopressin in patients after Fontan palliation.

Selected 2018 Highlights in Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia.

THIS ARTICLE IS a review of the highlights of pertinent literature published during the 12 months of 2018 that is of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist. During a search of the US National Library of Medicine PubMed database, several topics that displayed significant contributions to the field in 2018 emerged. The authors of the present review consider the following topics noteworthy: the patient with high-risk congenital heart disease (CHD) presenting for noncardiac surgery, cardiopulmonary resuscitation in infants and children with CHD, dexmedetomidine use in pediatric patients, point-of-care lung ultrasound, and regional anesthesia in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Mitral Regurgitation Exacerbation Due to Sutureless Aortic Valve Replacement.

Sutureless aortic valves are increasingly used for aortic valve replacement (AVR) with excellent outcomes. Implantation requires device expansion in a subannular position within the native aortic root. We report a patient with severe aortic stenosis who received a Perceval sutureless AVR (LivaNova, London, United Kingdom), resulting in a competent prosthesis with an absence of paravalvular leak and aortic regurgitation. However, this implantation resulted in the exacerbation of mitral regurgitation. The sutureless valve required explantation, and a traditional sutured valve was subsequently implanted, which returned the mitral regurgitation to baseline. We discuss a potential etiology of this sutureless AVR-specific complication.

Prognostic Value of Hyperlactatemia and Lactate Clearance After Mitral Valve Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Blood lactate is frequently used to guide management in critically ill patients. In patients undergoing mitral valve surgery, an elevated lactate level is frequently observed; however, overall mortality is low. The authors hypothesized that hyperlactemia is not a useful predictor of poor outcomes in this patient population. The main aim of this study was to explore how blood lactate level and lactate clearance are associated with 30-day mortality and major adverse events in patients undergoing mitral valve surgery. DESIGN: This was a retrospective database review. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the associations of perioperative factors with blood lactate in the intensive care unit (ICU). SETTING: Tertiary-care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 917 patients undergoing mitral valve surgery. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The majority of patients (71.8%) had elevated blood lactate ≥2 mmol/L on ICU admission; however, within 24 hours, 85.1% of all patients had normal lactate values. Overall 30-day mortality was 2.29% (n = 21). The combination of lactate ≥7 mmol/L on ICU admission and a persistent elevated blood lactate level 24 hours after ICU admission provides an excellent prediction of 30-day mortality (C statistic = 0.85). However, even a significantly elevated lactate level on ICU admission was well-tolerated in the majority of patients as long as lactate values normalized within 24 hours. Male sex, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, blood transfusion in the ICU, and an elevated blood lactate level on ICU admission and 12 hours after ICU admission all were independent risk factors of clearance failure. CONCLUSIONS: An elevated blood lactate level is common after mitral valve surgery and is well-tolerated in the majority of patients. Adding lactate clearance improved the predictive value of the blood lactate level.

Feasibility of Intraoperative Extubation in Pediatric Heart Transplantation.

Based on described benefits of fast-tracking and early extubation in children undergoing congenital heart surgery, we applied this concept to selected children following uncomplicated orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). In this case series, we report four patients who were extubated immediately after surgery in the operating room. A mild respiratory acidosis and hypercapnia were noted on the initial arterial blood gases, were well tolerated, and were normalized within 6 to 12 hours. There was no mortality among patients who were extubated in the operating room, and no patients required reintubation. We conclude that operating room extubation is feasible in selected patients undergoing OHT.

Primary tetralogy of Fallot repair: predictors of intensive care unit morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot has low surgical mortality, but some patients still experience significant postoperative morbidity. Our objectives were to review our institutional experience with primary tetralogy of Fallot repair, and identify predictors of intensive care unit morbidity. METHODS: We reviewed all patients with tetralogy of Fallot who underwent primary repair in infancy from 2001 to 2012. Preoperative, operative, and postoperative demographic and morphologic data were analyzed. Intensive care unit morbidity was defined as prolonged intensive care unit stay (≥ 7 days) and/or prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation (≥ 48 h). RESULTS: 97 patients who underwent primary surgical repair during the study period were included in the study. The median age was 4.9 months (range 1-9 months) and the median weight was 5.3 kg (range 3.1-9.8 kg). There was no early surgical mortality. The incidence of junctional ectopic tachycardia and persistent complete heart block was 2% and 1%, respectively. The median intensive care unit stay was 6 days (range 2-21 days) and the median duration of mechanical ventilation was 19 h (range 0-136 h). Age and weight were independent predictors of intensive care unit stay, while surgical era predicted the duration of mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSION: Primary tetralogy of Fallot repair is a safe procedure with low mortality and morbidity in a medium-sized program with outcomes comparable to national standards. Age and weight at the time of surgery were significant predictors of morbidity.

Multimodal neuromonitoring in pediatric cardiac anesthesia.

Despite significant improvements in overall outcome, neurological injury remains a feared complication following pediatric congenital heart surgery (CHS). Only if adverse events are detected early enough, can effective actions be initiated preventing potentially serious injury. The multifactorial etiology of neurological injury in CHS patients makes it unlikely that one single monitoring modality will be effective in capturing all possible threats. Improving current and developing new technologies and combining them according to the concept of multimodal monitoring may allow for early detection and possible intervention with the goal to further improve neurological outcome in children undergoing CHS.

Economic and safety implications of introducing fast tracking in congenital heart surgery.

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of fast-tracking children undergoing congenital heart disease surgery has not been assessed adequately. Current knowledge is based on limited single-center experiences without contemporaneous control groups. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared administrative data for atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) surgeries in children 2 months to 19 years of age at the Mount Sinai Medical Center (MSMC) with data from comparable patients at 40 centers contributing to the Pediatric Health Information System. Three-year blocks, early in and after fast tracking had been implemented at the MSMC, were examined. Seventy-seven and 89 children at MSMC undergoing ASD and VSD closure, respectively, were compared with 3103 ASD and 4180 VSD patients nationally. With fast tracking fully implemented, median length of stay at the MSMC decreased by 1 day compared with the earlier era (length of stay, 1 and 3 days for ASD and VSD, respectively). Nationally, median length of stay remained unchanged (3 days for ASD and 4 days for VSD) in the observed time periods. Hospitalization costs fell by 33% and 35% at MSMC (ASD and VSD, respectively), whereas they rose by 16% to 17% nationally. When analyzed in multiple regression models, the decrease in both length of stay and cost remained significantly greater at MSMC compared with nationally (P<0.0001 for all). Hospital mortality and 2-week readmission rates were unchanged at MSMC between the 2 time periods and were not different from the national rates. CONCLUSION: Shorter length of stay and cost savings compared with national data were observed after implementation of fast tracking.

Early extubation in adults undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVES: Early extubation in adults undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease has not been described. The authors report their experience with extubation in the operating room (OR), including factors associated with the decision to defer extubation to a later time. DESIGN: A retrospective chart review. SETTING: A tertiary-care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: This study included adults undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease using cardiopulmonary bypass. Exclusion criteria were as follows: preoperative mechanical ventilation, age >70 years, inotrope score >20 after surgery, and surgical risk (Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery [RACHS] score ≥4). INTERVENTIONS: A stepwise logistic regression model was used to test for the independent influence of the various factors on extubation in the OR. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients (age 18-59 years, median = 32 years) were included. Overall, 79% of patients were extubated in the OR. The RACHS score was the strongest predictor of deferring extubation (RACHS 3 v 1 or 2: odds ratio = 16.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.3-84.2; p = 0.0006). Further exploration of the high-risk group (RACHS 3) showed that 75% of the RACHS 3 patients with a body mass index <25 were extubated compared with only 20% of patients who had a body mass index ≥25 (p = 0.01). Other factors included in the analysis did not contribute any additional independent information. CONCLUSIONS: Extubation of adult patients in the OR after surgery for congenital heart disease is feasible in most cases. Surgical risk (RACHS score) and body mass index predict the decision for OR extubation in this patient population.

Neuraxial anesthesia and timing of heparin administration in patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease using cardiopulmonary bypass.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this review was to add to the existing literature documenting the safety of performing neuraxial techniques in patients who are subsequently fully heparinized, with particular emphasis on the timing of heparin administration. This will help improve risk estimation and possibly lead to a more widespread use of neuraxial anesthesia in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Single tertiary-care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: All patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart diseases during a 5-year period. INTERVENTIONS: The medical records of all patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart diseases during a 5-year period were reviewed for any complications related to the use of neuraxial anesthesia. Furthermore, the interval from neuraxial anesthesia to heparinization for cardiopulmonary bypass was examined. RESULTS: In total, 714 patients were identified who had neuraxial anesthesia administered before full heparinization for cardiopulmonary bypass. No cases of symptomatic spinal or epidural hematomas occurred. Further analysis showed that the interval from neuraxial anesthesia to full heparinization was <1 hour in 466 patients. CONCLUSIONS: No complications related to neuraxial anesthesia were found in a series of 714 patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease using cardiopulmonary bypass, including 466 patients in whom the interval from neuraxial anesthesia to full heparinization was <1 hour.