Influence of patient gender on mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of gender on mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on data prospectively collected from all patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of 22 preoperative and operative variables on early, late, and overall mortality. RESULTS: Aortic valve replacement was performed in 3343 patients with aortic stenosis between 1982 and 2003. The female patients were older, with a smaller body mass index. The women were less likely to have diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous myocardial infarction, or left ventricular ejection fraction <35% but were more likely to have hypertension or a New York Heart Association III-IV classification. The female patients received a smaller prosthetic valve, with a smaller effective orifice area index (EOAI). The mean follow-up period was 6.18 ± 4.96 years, with a total of 2066.142 years of follow-up. The independent predictors of early mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, congestive heart failure, and valve size of ≤21 mm. The independent predictors of late mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, diabetes, renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and a bioprosthetic valve. The independent predictors of overall mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, diabetes, renal failure, heart failure, and valve size of ≤21 mm. For the female patients, the risk factors for early mortality included body mass index <25 kg/m(2); for late mortality included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, New York Heart Association class III-IV, and diabetes; and for overall mortality included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, New York Heart Association class III-IV, and renal failure. Furthermore, male gender was an independent predictor of late (but not early or overall) mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The independent predictors of mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis differed between the male and female patients. Male gender increased the risk of late mortality, and a valve size of ≤21 mm increased the risk of early and overall mortality among the male patients only. These differences need to be taken into consideration preoperatively and require consideration during operative management.

Could we still improve early and interim outcome after prosthetic systemic-pulmonary shunt? A risk factors analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with in-hospital and interim mortality in children with a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt (SPS). METHODS: Between January 1988 and April 2005, 226 children with a median age of 17 days, and weight of 3.4 kg, underwent an isolated SPS for pulmonary atresia (PA)-VSD/ tetralogy (n=124, 54.9%), functional single ventricle PA (n=35, 5.5%), PA-intact septum (IS, n=31, 13.7%), transposition of the great arteries VSD-PA (n=30, 13.3%), and double outlet right ventricle-PA (n=6, 2.6%). Surgery was performed through sternotomy (group S, n=46) or thoracotomy (group T, n=180). The origin of the SPS was either the innominate artery (n=38) or ascending aorta (n=8) in group S, and the subclavian artery (n=180) in group T. RESULTS: In-hospital mortality was 5.7%. Univariate and logistic regression analysis revealed younger age (p=0.01), lower body weight (p<0.04), a diagnosis of PA-IS with severe right ventricle hypoplasia (p=0.005), preoperative intubation (p=0.03), increased length of intubation (p<0.0001), longer ICU stay (p<0.0001), and group S (p=0.03) as risk factors for in-hospital death. Group S had a longer median ventilation time (112 vs 30 h, p<0.0001) despite the similar median age, weight, mean indexed shunt size (1.19 vs 1.15 mm/kg, p=0.2), and the number of patients with antegrade pulmonary flow. Interim mortality was 7% (n=15), and younger age (p=0.03), and group T (p=0.03) were independent risk factors for death prior to second-stage surgery. Absence of antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants was not a risk factor for interim mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital mortality and longer ventilation time after SPS by sternotomy may be related to pulmonary over circulation due to shunt insertion origin and/or size, and pathologic features. Early and interim outcomes can be improved by using a smaller shunt or changing the SPS insertion origin when using a sternotomy approach.

Sequential subxyphoid and thoracotomy incisions with graft pull through for targeted redo multivessel surgical revascularization.

We report on a technique for redo coronary artery bypass using sequential subxyphoid and left thoracotomy access and a vascular graft pull through for proximal anastomosis to the descending aorta. This technique can be used safely on the beating heart when previously implanted grafts to the anterior ventricular wall are patent or whenever resternotomy for redo multivessel coronary artery bypass is undesirable or contraindicated.

A feasibility study of the safety and efficacy of a combined clopidogrel and aspirin regimen following off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE: Effective antiplatelet therapy may decrease the risk of complications following off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). We prospectively evaluated the safety and early efficacy of a combined regimen of clopidogrel and aspirin starting immediately after off-pump CABG. METHODS: One hundred thirty-five consecutive off-pump CABG patients received clopidogrel (75 mg/day) and aspirin (325 mg/day) orally or initially through a nasogastric tube for 3 months, commencing within 6 hours of surgery. Additionally, heparin (10,000 IU/day) was given subcutaneously during the first 4 postoperative days. Clinical events, including death, myocardial infarction (MI), reintervention, angiographically documented graft occlusion, stroke, pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and hemorrhagic events, were recorded. All patients were followed up for 3 months. RESULTS: Thirteen of 135 off-pump CABG patients had treatment discontinued before discharge because of refractory atrial fibrillation requiring warfarin sodium (Coumadin) (6 patients), gastrointestinal bleeding (1 patient), DVT (1 patient), PE (1 patient), and death (4 patients). The remaining patients were followed up for 3 months. At 1 month, the incidences of the following events were: 3.0% cerebrovascular accidents (3 strokes and 1 transient ischemic attack), 3.0% MI, 0.7% DVT, and 0.7% hemothorax. At 3 months, no additional events had occurred except for 1 patient developing DVT and 2 additional patients developing MI. Coronary angiography was indicated in these last 2 patients. All grafts were found to be patent. However, a native vessel required percutaneous intervention (stenting) in one of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Early administration of a combined regimen of clopidogrel and aspirin following off-pump CABG is safe and is associated with a relatively low incidence of major adverse cardiac events, bleeding, PE, and DVT. Consequently, its routine administration after off-pump CABG is recommended.

Avoiding aortic clamping during coronary artery bypass using an automated anastomotic device.

In its current application, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) requires clamping of the aorta to perform the proximal anastomosis. One of the important theoretical advantages of OPCAB is to avoid the undesirable effects of cross-clamping of the aorta. We report our early experience with a technique of no aortic clamping using the St. Jude aortic connector system in 11 patients.