Subclinical Hypothyroidism Might Increase the Risk of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation after Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background To evaluate the influence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) on the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement surgery with extracorporeal circulation. Methods A prospective study in a tertiary hospital between July 2005 and December 2013 in which all patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with no other valve surgery were consecutively included. Patients who were in preoperative sinus rhythm were selected and they underwent thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone determination in the month before surgery. Postoperative AF was defined as the development of AF during hospital admittance. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were performed for the target variable. Results A total of 467 patients were studied, with 35 cases of SCH. The incidence of postoperative AF was 57% in the group with SCH versus 30.3% (p = 0.001) in the group without hypothyroidism, without significant differences in other postoperative complications. In the logistic regression analysis, the independent predictors of postoperative AF were SCH, age, and aortic clamping time. SCH multiplies the odds ratio of postoperative AF by 3.14 (95% confidence interval: 1.24-7.96). Conclusion SCH behaves like a risk factor for the development of postoperative AF in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with extracorporeal circulation. Other studies are needed to determine whether preoperative T4 replacement therapy and/or more aggressive AF prophylaxis can prevent this complication in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement.

Clinical impact of del Nido cardioplegia in adult cardiac surgery: A prospective randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to assess the benefits of del Nido cardioplegia compared with cold blood cardioplegia solution in terms of myocardial protection during adult cardiac surgery. METHODS: A total of 474 adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, heart valve surgery, thoracic aortic surgery, or combined procedures were randomized to the del Nido cardioplegia group (n = 234) or the cold blood cardioplegia solution group (n = 240) after provided informed consent. The primary end points assessed inotropic support requirements, severe cardiovascular events, and troponin trend within the first 48 hours of intensive care unit stay. Reperfusion arrhythmias, aortic crossclamp and cardiopulmonary bypass times, and other clinical perioperative variables were considered as secondary end points. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found regarding postoperative inotropic support requirements or the incidence of severe cardiovascular events. The del Nido cardioplegia group showed a higher return to spontaneous sinus rhythm (P< .001), a lower number of defibrillation attempts (P< .001), and an earlier peak troponin value in the postoperative period. Peak blood glucose levels and intravenous insulin requirements were significantly lower in the del Nido cardioplegia group. We found no significant differences regarding aortic crossclamp or cardiopulmonary bypass time. We did observe a lower incidence of postoperative stroke in the del Nido cardioplegia group (2.6% vs 6.7%; P= .035). CONCLUSIONS: del Nido cardioplegia can be used safely and with comparable outcomes compared with traditional cardioplegia solutions. Additional advantages over glycemic control, reperfusion arrhythmias, and its comfortable redosing interval make del Nido an interesting alternative for myocardial protection in adult cardiac surgery. A significant decrease in postoperative stroke will require further research to shed light on the results of this study. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Cryoablation of atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgery: outcomes and myocardial injury biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE: Elevations of myocardial injury biomarkers after cardiac surgery without ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) are related to perioperative myocardial ischemia and associated with an increased risk of mortality and cardiac events. However, there have not been any studies that examined the release of cardiac biomarkers after AF cryoablation procedures with concomitant cardiac surgery. The authors determined the levels of these biomarkers for 2 different procedures involving cryoablation and assessed their clinical implications. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study with cardiac surgical patients. SETTING: A tertiary care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred fifty-two cardiac surgical patients. INTERVENTIONS: Patients underwent 1 of 2 different cryoablation approaches: the modified Cox-Maze (CM) III procedure (n = 63) or the isolated left atrial (LA) maze procedure (n = 89). Plasma levels of cardiac biomarkers were measured at 1, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery. Twenty-four-hour Holter monitoring was performed at 1 month and 1 year after surgery. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Both groups reached very high peak levels of CPK-MB (CM group, 368 ± 171.4 ng/mL and LA group, 203 ± 86.4 ng/mL) and troponin T (CM, 8 ± 4.5 ng/mL and LA, 3.4 ± 2.4 ng/mL). The CPK, CPK-MB, and troponin T levels were significantly higher in the modified CM group compared with the LA maze group. In the first 24 hours after surgery, the average CPK-MB and troponin T values were 78.2 ng/mL higher and 2.3 ng/mL higher, respectively, in the CM group compared with the LA group. In both groups, 79% of the patients remained free of AF at 12 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Cryoablation in cardiac surgery causes the release of very high levels of myocardial injury biomarkers. The modified CM lesion causes a greater elevation of serum biomarker levels than the isolated LA maze procedure, but this increase does not seem to have an adverse effect on rhythm or overall outcome. Cryoablation is a safe and effective surgical treatment for AF.

Initial outcomes of a multidisciplinary network for the care of patients with cardiogenic shock.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Mortality remains high in cardiogenic shock (CS), especially in refractory CS involving the use of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of a care program for patients in CS after the creation of a multidisciplinary team in our center and a regional network of hospitals in our area. METHODS: Observational and retrospective study of patients attended in this program from September 2014 to January 2019. We included patients in refractory CS who required MCS and those who, because of their age and absence of comorbidities, were candidates for advanced therapies. The primary endpoint was survival to discharge. RESULTS: A total of 130 patients were included (69 local and 61 transferred patients). The mean age was 52±15 years (72% men). The most frequent causes of CS were acute decompensated heart failure (29%), acute myocardial infarction (26%), and postcardiotomy CS (25%). MCS was used in 105 patients (81%), mostly extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (58%). Survival to discharge was 57% (74 of 130 patients). The most frequent destinations were myocardial recovery and heart transplant. Independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were SAPS II score, lactate level, acute myocardial infarction etiology, and vasoactive-inotropic score. CONCLUSIONS: The creation of multidisciplinary teams for patients with mainly refractory CS and a regional network is feasible and allows survival to discharge in more than a half of attended patients with CS.

Efficacy of Oral Anticoagulation in Stroke Prevention among Sinus-Rhythm Patients Who Lack Left Atrial Mechanical Contraction after Cryoablation.

The customary recommendation is that oral anticoagulation be withdrawn a few months after cryoablation for atrial fibrillation, independently of left atrial mechanical contraction in patients in sinus rhythm. Recently, a 5-fold increase in stroke has been described in sinus-rhythm patients who lack atrial mechanical contraction. One aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral anticoagulation in preventing postoperative stroke in such patients. This prospective study divided 154 sinus-rhythm patients into 2 groups, depending on the presence (108 patients) or absence (46 patients) of left atrial mechanical contraction at 6 months after surgery, and monitored them annually for 5 years. Those without left atrial contraction were maintained on acenocumarol. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of ischemic stroke. The median follow-up period was 29 ± 16 months; 4 patients (2.5%), all belonging to the group with preserved atrial contraction, had ischemic stroke; the group of patients without left atrial contraction had no episodes of stroke during follow-up. Logistic binary regression analyses showed no evidence of factors independently predictive of stroke. Among anticoagulated patients in sinus rhythm without left atrial contraction, we found the incidence of stroke to be zero. In a small, nonrandomized group such as this, we cannot discount the element of chance, yet we suggest that maintaining anticoagulation might lower the incidence of stroke in this population.

Left main coronary artery compression by a left sinus of Valsalva aneurysm.

Myocardial ischaemia due to extrinsic left main coronary artery compression is unusual. Most cases are related to pulmonary hypertension with severe main pulmonary artery dilatation. An extremely rare cause is a left sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA). We describe the case of a patient diagnosed of left SVA after a coronary angiography and aortography, whose initial clinical manifestation was an acute coronary syndrome complicated with an out-hospital resuscitated sudden cardiac death.

Mitral stenosis after IMR ETlogix ring annuloplasty for ischemic regurgitation.

OBJECTIVES: Ring annuloplasty combined with coronary artery bypass grafting is the standard approach for treatment of patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation. We evaluated mitral valve hemodynamic performance and recurrence of mitral regurgitation after ring annuloplasty. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 40 consecutive patients (mean age, 70±8 years) with chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation grade ≥2+ received annuloplasty with an IMR ETlogix ring. During follow-up (25.9±15.5 months), 84% of surviving patients underwent exercise stress echocardiography to assess recurrence of mitral regurgitation and differences between rest and exercise mitral valve hemodynamic performance. RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 10%. During follow-up, we found no significant differences between left ventricular ejection fraction or end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters pre- and postoperatively (41% vs. 45%, 59 vs. 56 mm, and 49 vs. 46 mm, respectively), but there was a significant increase in mitral mean gradient with exercise (3.3±1.2 vs. 7.8±4 mmHg, p<0.001). Two patients had mitral regurgitation ≥grade III-IV. CONCLUSIONS: Mitral annuloplasty with the IMR ETlogix ring provides effective correction of chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation, but this technique may induce functional mitral stenosis.