The impact of neurocritical patient transfer on outcomes: retrospective analysis of practice in the largest neurosurgical centre in Lithuania.

INTRODUCTION: Critical neurological conditions require urgent assessment and treatment. The quality of care and treatment provided during the transportation is important and related to the outcome of critically ill patients. We aimed to assess the quality of interhospital transportation of neurocritical patients in the largest neurosurgical cluster in Lithuania and identify possible outcome prediction variables. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. We analysed the data from 106 neurocritical patients who were transported to the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics Neurosurgery Clinic in 2018. We collected the needed data from patients' medical history, referrals, and transfer sheets. In our research, we evaluated the quality of referrals and the quality of filling protocols. RESULTS: The transportation protocols showed that during the transferrals diuresis, end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2), pupil size, and reaction to light were not routinely measured in any of the patients, as opposed to other vital signs. We found that less than half of referrals (42%) were informative and suitable for sending the patient to another hospital. Results showed that the first systolic arterial blood pressure (sABP) measured at Neuro-ICU is associated with patient outcomes. Higher sABP was seen in the group of patients with negative outcomes (death, continued need for care). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that monitoring of vital signs and neurological parameters as well as the quality of referrals were found to be the weakest links in the neurocritical patient transfer.

The Association of Cerebral Autoregulation Dysfunction and Postoperative Memory Impairment in Cardiac Surgery Patients.

Background and Objectives: Cardiac surgery is associated with various durations of cerebral autoregulation (CA) impairment and can significantly impact cognitive function. Cognitive functions such as memory, psychomotor speed, and attention are significantly impacted after cardiac surgery, necessitating prioritization of these areas in cognitive function tests. There is a lack of research connecting cerebral autoregulation impairment to specific cognitive function domains after cardiac surgery. This study aimed to determine if impaired cerebral autoregulation is associated with postoperative memory impairment and to test the hypothesis that the duration of this impairment affects the development of postoperative memory issues. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in 2021-2023. After approval of the Ethics Committee and with patient's written consent, 83 adult patients undergoing elective on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery were enrolled. All patients were assessed for cognitive function 1 day before surgery using the Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE-2) test as a screening tool and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) to assess memory specifically. To diagnose possible memory impairment (IM), all patients underwent a repeat assessment of cognitive function on the 7th-10th postoperative day. Cerebral autoregulation monitoring using transcranial Doppler was performed. Cerebral autoregulation status index (Mx) was recorded using Intensive Care Brain Monitoring System software, 9.1.5.23 (Cambridge, UK). Results: According to our research, the incidence of postoperative memory impairment is 30.1%. Temporary cerebral autoregulation impairment occurs in all patients undergoing elective in-pump CABG surgery. The duration of the single longest CA impairment event in seconds (LCAI) and the LCAI dose were higher in patients with postoperative memory impairment, p = 0.006 and p < 0.007, respectively. Conclusions: Cerebral autoregulation impairment is important in developing memory loss after cardiac surgery. The duration and dose of the LCAI event are predictive of postoperative memory impairment.

Interrater agreement between student and teacher assessments of endotracheal intubation skills in a self-directed simulation learning environment.

BACKGROUND: Practical skill assessment is an important part of the learning process to confirm competencies in acquired medical knowledge. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the assessments of endotracheal intubation skills using the HybridLab® methodology between students and teacher in terms of interobserver reliability. METHODS: Reliability analysis was performed with observational data (data are reported according to STROBE guidelines). The study was conducted in two countries, the Lithuanian University of Health Science (LUHS) and Pennsylvania State University (PSU) in the US, between 1 January and 30 June 2020. A total of 92 students (60 from LUHS and 32 from PSU) were trained in endotracheal intubation using an algorithm-driven hybrid learning method. At the end of the training session, the participants had to complete the evaluation scenario, which was assessed by one of the students and evaluated remotely by a single teacher. The student assessment of the endotracheal intubation procedure was compared with the teacher's assessment using correlation and estimation of the intraclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Overall, the medians of the student and teacher assessments were both 100% (0%). Spearman's correlation coefficient between the student and teacher assessments was 0.879 (p = 0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficient used for interobserver variations between the students and teacher was 0.883 (95% confidence interval from 0.824 to 0.923). CONCLUSIONS: The algorithm-driven hybrid learning method allows students to reliably assess endotracheal intubation skills to a level comparable with that of the teacher's evaluation. This learning method has the potential to be a cost-effective and efficient way to provide high-quality education while also saving human resources.

Association between serum biomarkers and postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: In cardiac surgery, patients face an increased risk of developing postoperative delirium (POD) that is associated with poor outcomes. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have shown some promising results as potential tools for POD risk stratification, diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective single-centre study enrolled 44 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or valve procedures using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The patients were assessed and monitored preoperatively, during surgery, and in the early postoperative period. The blood levels of NSE and GFAP were measured before and after surgery. The early POD was assessed by CAM-ICU criteria and patients were assigned to the POD group (with POD) or to the NPOD group (without POD) retrospectively. RESULTS: The incidence of POD was 18.2%. After surgery, NSE significantly increased in the whole sample (p = 0.002). Comparing between groups, NSE significantly increased in the POD group after surgery (p = 0.042). ΔGFAP (before/after operation) for the whole sample was statistically significant (p = 0.022). There was a significant correlation between ΔGFAP and the lowest MAP during surgery in the POD group (p = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that NSE and GFAP are associated with early POD. An increase in NSE level during the perioperative period may be associated with subclinical neuronal damage. Serum GFAP levels show the damage of glial cells. Further studies are needed to find the factors influencing the individual limits of optimal MAP during surgery.

Cerebrovascular autoregulation impairments during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass are related to postoperative cognitive deterioration: prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) occurs in approximately 33-83% of patients after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Recent clinical data suggest that real-time, intraoperative monitoring of patient-specific cerebrovascular autoregulation (CA) may help to prevent POCD by detecting individual critical limits for mean arterial pressure (MAP) outside which CA is impaired. Objectives of the study were to detect the episodes of impaired CA during cardiac surgery with CPB, and to investigate the association between CA impairment and POCD. METHODS: The observational study of non-invasive ultrasonic volumetric CA monitoring included 59 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery with CPB. All patients underwent series of neuropsychological tests the day before and ten days after the surgery in order to evaluate cognitive function. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (37%) experienced POCD, 37 patients (63%) showed no cognitive deterioration. The duration of the single longest CA impairment event was found reliably associated with occurrence of POCD (P<0.05). The critical duration of the single longest CA impairment event was 5.03 minutes (odds ratio 14.5; CI 3.9-51.8) for studied population. CONCLUSIONS: Prospective clinical study showed that single longest CA impairment may result in post-operative deterioration of mental abilities. The duration of the single longest CA impairment event is the risk factor that is associated with POCD.

Correlation among decreased regional cerebral oxygen saturation, blood levels of brain injury biomarkers, and cognitive disorder.

Objective This study was performed to investigate the correlation among decreased regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2), blood levels of brain injury biomarkers, and postoperative cognitive disorder (POCD) after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods This prospective observational study included 59 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with CPB. All patients underwent neuropsychological tests (Mini Mental State Evaluation, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, digit span test, digit symbol substitution test, and Schulte table) the day before and 10 days after the surgery. The blood levels of two brain injury biomarkers, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), were measured before and 1 day after the surgery. Results The rSO2 decreased during surgery in 21 (35%) patients. POCD was detected in 22 (37%) patients. After the surgery, no significant changes in the GFAP blood level occurred in any patients. No significant correlations were found among the decreased rSO2, increased NSE blood level, and rate of POCD. Conclusion These results suggest that a decrease in rSO2 during cardiac surgery is not necessarily related to the development of POCD or an increased blood level of the brain injury biomarker NSE.

A case-control study of readmission to the intensive care unit after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of repeated admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of patients who underwent cardiac surgery procedures. MATERIAL/METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 169 patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 2009 and December 2010. The case group contained 54 patients who were readmitted to the ICU during the same hospitalization and the control group comprised 115 randomly selected patients. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis revealed that independent predictors for readmission to the ICU after CABG were: older age of patients (odds ratio [OR] 1.04; CI 1.004-1.08); body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m2 (OR 2.55; CI 1.31-4.97); EuroSCORE II>3.9% (OR 3.56; CI 1.59-7.98); non-elective surgery (OR 2.85; CI 1.37-5.95); duration of operation>4 h (OR 3.44; CI 1.54-7.69); bypass time>103 min (OR 2.5; CI 1.37-4.57); mechanical ventilation>530 min (OR 3.98; CI 1.82-8.7); and postoperative central nervous system (CNS) disorders (OR 3.95; CI 1.44-10.85). The hospital mortality of patients who were readmitted to the ICU was significantly higher compared to the patients who did not require readmission (17% vs. 3.8%, p=0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Identification of patients at risk of ICU readmission should focus on older patients, those who have higher BMI, who underwent non-elective surgery, whose operation time was more than 4 hours, and who have postoperative CNS disorders. Careful optimization of these high-risk patients and caution before discharging them from the ICU may help reduce the rate of ICU readmission, mortality, length of stay, and cost.