Perioperative Management of Patients Receiving Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors: Development of a Clinical Guideline at a Large Academic Medical Center.

The use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) is increasing rapidly for patients with diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. These medications can cause euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis in the perioperative period, and the Food and Drug Administration recently updated their recommendations that they be held for at least 3-to-4 days preoperatively. There is a paucity of guidelines for the perioperative management of patients taking SGLT2i who present for emergent surgery or elective surgery having not held the medications per Food and Drug Administration guidelines. At the University of Pennsylvania, a multidisciplinary team from the Departments of Anesthesiology, Endocrinology, and Pharmacy has developed comprehensive guidelines detailing preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative management for patients using these medications. In this article, the authors present these guidelines and discuss challenges encountered while implementing them at a large academic medical center with satellite hospitals and surgery centers with varying resources and patient populations.

Rate Control versus Rhythm Control for Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery is associated with increased rates of death, complications, and hospitalizations. In patients with postoperative atrial fibrillation who are in stable condition, the best initial treatment strategy--heart-rate control or rhythm control--remains controversial. METHODS: Patients with new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation were randomly assigned to undergo either rate control or rhythm control. The primary end point was the total number of days of hospitalization within 60 days after randomization, as assessed by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS: Postoperative atrial fibrillation occurred in 695 of the 2109 patients (33.0%) who were enrolled preoperatively; of these patients, 523 underwent randomization. The total numbers of hospital days in the rate-control group and the rhythm-control group were similar (median, 5.1 days and 5.0 days, respectively; P=0.76). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of death (P=0.64) or overall serious adverse events (24.8 per 100 patient-months in the rate-control group and 26.4 per 100 patient-months in the rhythm-control group, P=0.61), including thromboembolic and bleeding events. About 25% of the patients in each group deviated from the assigned therapy, mainly because of drug ineffectiveness (in the rate-control group) or amiodarone side effects or adverse drug reactions (in the rhythm-control group). At 60 days, 93.8% of the patients in the rate-control group and 97.9% of those in the rhythm-control group had had a stable heart rhythm without atrial fibrillation for the previous 30 days (P=0.02), and 84.2% and 86.9%, respectively, had been free from atrial fibrillation from discharge to 60 days (P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Strategies for rate control and rhythm control to treat postoperative atrial fibrillation were associated with equal numbers of days of hospitalization, similar complication rates, and similarly low rates of persistent atrial fibrillation 60 days after onset. Neither treatment strategy showed a net clinical advantage over the other. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02132767.).

"If I had only known"--on choice and uncertainty in the ICU.

After receiving a ventricular assist device, a patient experiences months of advances and setbacks in the ICU. She's one of a new subcategory of ICU patients: the chronically critically ill. Their stories reveal shortcomings of common perspectives on medical decision making.

A multi-institutional cohort study confirming the risks of Clostridium difficile infection associated with prolonged antibiotic prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) have increased rapidly over the past 2 decades, particularly in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities. This study sought to characterize the incidence and risks of these infections in cardiac surgery patients. METHODS: A total of 5158 patients at 10 Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network sites in the US and Canada participated in a prospective study of major infections after cardiac surgery. Patients were followed for infection, readmission, reoperation, or death up to 65 days after surgery. We compared clinical and demographic characteristics, surgical data, management practices, and outcomes for patients with CDI and without CDI. RESULTS: C difficile was the third most common infection observed (0.97%) and was more common in patients with preoperative comorbidities and complex operations. Antibiotic prophylaxis for >2 days, intensive care unit stay >2 days, and postoperative hyperglycemia were associated with increased risk of CDI. The median time to onset was 17 days; 48% of infections occurred after discharge. The additional length of stay due to infection was 12 days. The readmission and mortality rates were 3-fold and 5-fold higher, respectively, in patients with CDI compared with uninfected patients. CONCLUSIONS: In this large multicenter prospective study of major infections following cardiac surgery, CDI was encountered in nearly 1% of patients, was frequently diagnosed postdischarge, and was associated with extended length of stay and substantially increased mortality. Patients with comorbidities, longer surgery time, extended antibiotic exposure, and/or hyperglycemic episodes were at increased risk for CDI.

From Root Cause to Action Plan: How an Adverse Event Uncovered Deficiencies in Resident Knowledge of Sedation Policies and Practices.

Mild or moderate sedation for procedures frequently is administered outside the operating room by resident physicians with varying degrees of training. An adverse event at our institution involving procedural sedation prompted us to conduct a survey among resident physicians. This survey investigated resident knowledge and attitudes about sedatives and analgesics, in addition to knowledge of risk factors for sedation-related adverse events. The survey identified a range of knowledge deficiencies among resident physicians and a lack of awareness of institutional sedation policies. Identification of knowledge gaps facilitated an educational initiative that promoted training in the pharmacology of sedatives and analgesics, safe sedation practices, and institutional sedation policies. Additional interventions included updating our sedation policy and creation of an electronic order set to facilitate the safe prescription of sedatives.

Critical care management of patients following transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is rapidly gaining popularity as a technique to surgically manage aortic stenosis (AS) in high risk patients. TAVR is significantly less invasive than the traditional approach to aortic valve replacement via median sternotomy. Patients undergoing TAVR often suffer from multiple comorbidities, and their postoperative course may be complicated by a unique set of complications that may become evident in the intensive care unit (ICU). In this article, we review the common complications of TAVR that may be observed in the ICU, and different strategies for their management.

Critical care management of patients following transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is rapidly gaining popularity as a technique to surgically manage aortic stenosis (AS) in high risk patients. TAVR is significantly less invasive than the traditional approach to aortic valve replacement via median sternotomy. Patients undergoing TAVR often suffer from multiple comorbidities, and their postoperative course may be complicated by a unique set of complications that may become evident in the intensive care unit (ICU). In this article, we review the common complications of TAVR that may be observed in the ICU, and different strategies for their management.