Intravenous injection of dexamethasone is non-inferior to perineural administration for popliteal sciatic nerve and saphenous nerve blocks: A randomized, controlled, triple-blind study.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether intravenous dexamethasone was noninferior to perineural dexamethasone as an adjuvant to ropivacaine for a combination of saphenous and sciatic nerve blocks in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery. Methods: This was a prospective, blinded, randomized noninferiority study. Seventy-five patients, aged 18-75 years, with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III who underwent foot and ankle surgery were involved. Patients scheduled for ultrasound-guided popliteal sciatic nerve block and saphenous nerve block were randomized to receive 0.375% ropivacaine with 7.5 mg of dexamethasone perineurally (Dex-PN), 10 mg of dexamethasone intravenously (Dex-IV) or neither (Placebo). The primary outcome was the duration of analgesia. The major secondary outcomes were the composite pain intensity and opioid consumption score at 0-48 h intervals after anesthesia. Results: The mean analgesic duration was 26.2 h in the Dex-IV group and 27.9 h in the Dex-PN group (duration difference, -1.7; 95% CI, -3.8 to 0.43; P = 0.117), and both durations were significantly longer than that in the placebo group (17.6 h, P < 0.001). Conditions for establishing non-inferiority were met. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a single 10-mg intravenous dose of dexamethasone was noninferior to the combined dose of ropivacaine plus deaxmethasone in terms of duration of analgesia for foot and ankle surgery.

The protective effect of vitamin A palmitate eye gel on the ocular surface during general anaesthesia surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To investigate the change in tear production associated with general anesthesia and the protective effect of vitamin A palmitate eye gel on the ocular surface during general anesthesia. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized clinical trial included patients undergoing non-ophthalmic surgery under general anesthesia who randomly received vitamin A palmitate eye gel and taping for one eye (Group A, n = 60) or taping alone for the other eye (Group B, n = 60). Symptom assessment in dry eye (SANDE) score, tear film break-up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) score, and Schirmer tear test I (STT-1) were analyzed under a hand-held slit lamp before anesthesia (T0), 0.5 h postoperatively (T1), and 24 h postoperatively (T2). RESULTS: At 0.5 h postoperatively, an increase in CFS score was observed in both groups (P < 0.05 in Group A and P < 0.01 in Group B), and the participants in Group A had less corneal abrasions than those in Group B. STT-1 significantly increased in Group A (P < 0.05), while it significantly decreased in Group B (P < 0.001). The changes between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.001). At 24 h postoperatively, both CFS score and STT-1 almost returned to baseline levels in the two groups. In both groups, the SANDE score and TBUT showed little change at 0.5 h and 24 h postoperatively (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Vitamin A palmitate eye gel effectively protected the ocular surface and aqueous supplementation during general anesthesia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100052140) on 20/10/2021.

Effect of maternal oxygen supplementation for parturient undergoing elective cesarean section by high-flow nasal oxygen compared with room air on fetal acidemia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Maternal oxygen supplementation is usually used as an intrauterine resuscitation technique to prevent fetal hypoxia and acidemia during delivery. However, there has been a great deal of controversy regarding the effects of prophylactic maternal oxygen during cesarean section, during which the incidence of fetal acidemia seems to be higher compared with that during labor. High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) can improve oxygenation better in patients with high-flow oxygen airflow. The purpose of this study is to determine whether maternal oxygen supplementation with HFNO has a positive effect on fetal acidemia during cesarean section through umbilical arterial blood gas analysis. METHOD: This prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blinded trial will enroll 120 patients undergoing cesarean section. Participants will be randomly assigned to the HFNO group or air group at a 1:1 ratio. For parturients in the HFNO group, the flow rate is 40L/min, and the oxygen is heated to 37℃ with humidity 100% oxygen concentration through the Optiflow high-flow nasal oxygen system. And for the air group, the flow rate is 2 L/min with an air pattern through the same device. The primary outcome was umbilical artery (UA) lactate. Secondary outcomes include UA pH, PO2, PCO2, BE, the incidence of pH < 7.20 and pH < 7.10, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min, and neonatal adverse outcomes. DISCUSSION: Our study is the first trial investigating whether maternal oxygen supplementation with HFNO can reduce the umbilical artery lactate levels and the incidence of fetal acidemia in cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05921955. Registered on 27 June 2023.

Transnasal Humidified Rapid Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange Augments Oxygenation in Children With Juvenile Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis During Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence is lacking regarding the efficacy of transnasal humidified rapid insufflation ventilatory exchange (THRIVE) in tubeless anesthesia, especially in pediatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate the use of THRIVE for juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) patients. METHODS: Twenty-eight children aged 2 to 12 years with JORRP, abnormal airways, and ASA physical status II-III that presented for surgical treatment under general anesthesia were included in this study. Each patient received 2 interventions in random order, with a 5-minute washout period between treatments: apnea without oxygen supplementation and apnea with THRIVE intervention. The primary outcome apnea time was defined as the duration from withdrawal of intubation to reintubation and resumption of controlled ventilation. The secondary outcomes were the mean transcutaneous carbon dioxide (tc co2 ) increase rate, the minimum pulse oxygen saturation (Sp o2 ) during apnea, and the occurrence of unexpected adverse effects. RESULTS: The median apnea time in the THRIVE period was significantly longer than that in the control period (8.9 [8.6-9.4] vs 3.8 [3.4-4.3] minutes; mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)], 5.0 [4.4-5.6]; P < .001) for all patients. The rate of CO 2 change in the control period was higher than that in the THRIVE period both for patients aged 2 to 5 years old (6.29 [5.19-7.4] vs 3.22 [2.92-3.76] mm Hg min -1 ; mean difference [95% CI], 3.09 [2.27-3.67]; P < .001) and for patients aged 6 to 12 years old (4.76 [3.7-6.2] vs 3.38 [2.64-4.0] mm Hg min -1 ; mean difference [95% CI], 1.63 [0.75-2.56]; P < .001). The minimum Sp o2 was significantly higher in the THRIVE period than in the control period (mean difference [95% CI], 19.7 [14.8-22.6]; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that THRIVE safely increased the apnea time among children with JORRP undergoing surgery and decreased the rate of carbon dioxide increase. THRIVE is clinically recommended as an airway management technique for tubeless anesthesia in apneic children.

Thoracic Paravertebral Block Decreased Body Temperature in Thoracoscopic Lobectomy Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) may be highly beneficial for thoracoscopic lobectomy patients, but it may increase the risk of hypothermia. Apart from its anesthetic-reducing effects, this randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the hypothermic effect of TPVB, and thus optimize its clinical use. Patients and methods: Adult patients were randomly allocated to two groups: TPVB + general anesthesia (GA) group or GA group. In the TPVB+GA group, the block was performed after GA induction by an experienced but unrelated anesthesiologist. Both the lower esophageal and axillary temperature were recorded at the beginning of surgery (T0) and every 15 min thereafter (T1-T8), and the end of surgery (Tp). The primary outcome was the lower esophageal temperature at Tp. The secondary outcomes included lower esophageal temperature from T0-T8 and axillary temperature from T0-Tp. The total propofol, analgesics, and norepinephrine consumption and the incidence of adverse events were also recorded. Results: Forty-eight patients were randomly allocated to the TPVB+GA (n=24) and GA (n=24) groups. The core temperature at the end of the surgery was lower in the TPVB+GA group than the GA group (35.90±0.30°C vs 36.35±0.33°C, P<0.001), with a significant difference from 45 min after the surgery began until the end of the surgery (P<0.05). In contrast, the peripheral temperature showed a significant difference at 60 min after the surgery began till the end (P<0.05). TPVB+GA exhibited excellent analgesic and sedative-sparing effects compared to GA alone (P<0.001), though it increased norepinephrine consumption due to hypotension (P<0.001). Conclusion: Although thorough warming strategies were used, TPVB combined with GA remarkably reduced the body temperature, which is an easily neglected side effect. Further studies on the most effective precautions are needed to optimize the clinical use of TPVB.

Auts2 regulated autism-like behavior, glucose metabolism and oxidative stress in mice.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and communication. The autism susceptibility candidate 2 (AUTS2) gene has been associated with multiple neurological diseases, including ASD. Glucose metabolism plays an important role in social behaviors associated with ASD, but the potential role of AUTS2 in glucose metabolism has not been studied. Here, we generated Auts2flox/flox; Emx1Cre+ conditional knockout mice with Auts2 deletion specifically in Exm1-positive neurons in the brain (Auts2-cKO mice) to evaluate the effects of Auts2 knockdown on social behaviors and metabolic pathways. Auts2-cKO mice exhibited ASD-like behaviors, including impaired social interactions and repetitive grooming behaviors. At the molecular level, we found that Auts2 knockdown reduced brain glucose uptake and inhibited the pentose phosphate pathway. Auts2 knockdown also resulted in signs of oxidative stress, and we documented increased levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde as well as decreased levels of antioxidant molecules, including glutathione and superoxide dismutases in Auts2-cKO mouse brains compared to controls. Finally, Auts2 knockdown significantly disrupted mitochondrial homeostasis and inhibited activity of the SIRT1-SIRT3 axis. Taken together, our findings indicate that loss of AUTS2 expression in Emx1-expressing cells induces multiple changes in metabolic pathways that have been linked to the pathology of ASD. Further characterization of the role of AUTS2 in Emx1-expressing cells in regulating the metabolism of brain neurons may identify opportunities to treat ASD and AUTS2-deficiency disorders with metabolism-targeted therapies.

Exosomal transfer of microRNA-590-3p between renal tubular epithelial cells after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury regulates autophagy by targeting TRAF6.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in patients, especially elderly patients, who undergo cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Studies have indicated a protective role of autophagy in AKI. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulatory effect of autophagy in AKI among patients undergoing cardiac surgeries are poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate autophagy in tubular epithelial cells after AKI. METHODS: Plasma exosomal RNA was extracted from young and elderly AKI patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and the miRNAs expression during the perioperative period were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. The screened miRNAs and their target genes were subjected to gene oncology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome enrichment analyses. Renal tubular epithelial cell line (HK-2 cells) was cultured and hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model was established, which is an in vitro renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model. We used Western blot analysis, cell viability assay, transfection, luciferase assay to investigate the mechanisms underlying the observed increases in the levels of renal I/R injury-mediated exosomal miRNAs and their roles in regulating HK-2 cells autophagy. RESULTS: miR-590-3p was highly enriched in the plasma exosomes of young AKI patients after cardiac surgery. Increased levels of miR-590-3p led to the increases in the expression of autophagy marker proteins, including Beclin-1 and microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (LC3II), and prolonged the autophagic response in HK-2 cells after H/R treatment. These effects were achieved mainly via increases in the exosomal miR-590-3p levels, and the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 protein was shown to play a key role in I/R injury-mediated autophagy induction. CONCLUSION: Exosomes released from HK-2 cells after renal I/R injury regulate autophagy by transferring miR-590-3p in a paracrine manner, which suggests that increasing the miR-590-3p levels in HK-2 cell-derived exosomes may increase autophagy and protect against kidney injury after renal I/R injury.

Corrigendum: Moderate and Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest Have Comparable Effects on Severe Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome After Total Aortic Arch Replacement in Patients With Type A Aortic Dissection.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.758854.].

Moderate and Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest Have Comparable Effects on Severe Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome After Total Aortic Arch Replacement in Patients With Type A Aortic Dissection.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome (sSIRS) after total aortic arch replacement between patients who underwent moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest (MHCA) and those who underwent deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). Methods: At Fuwai Hospital, 600 patients who underwent total aortic arch replacement with MHCA or DHCA from January 2013 to December 2016 were consecutively enrolled and divided into DHCA (14.1-20.0°C) and MHCA (20.1-28.0°C) groups. Preliminary statistical analysis revealed that some baseline indicators differed between the two groups; therefore, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the covariates. Post-operative sSIRS as the primary outcome was compared between the groups both before and after PSM. Results: A total of 275 (45.8%) patients underwent MHCA, and 325 (54.2%) patients underwent DHCA. After PSM analysis, a total of 191 matched pairs were obtained. The overall incidence of sSIRS was 27.3%. There was no significant difference in post-operative sSIRS between the MHCA group and the DHCA group in either the overall cohort or the PSM cohort (no-PSM: P = 0.188; PSM: P = 0.416); however, post-operative sSIRS was increased by ~4% in the DHCA group compared with the MHCA group in both the no-PSM and PSM cohorts (no-PSM: 29.5 vs. 24.7%; PSM: 29.3 vs. 25.1%). Both before and after PSM, the rates of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and pulmonary infection and post-operative length of stay were significantly increased in the DHCA group compared with the MHCA group (P < 0.05), and the remaining secondary outcomes were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusions: MHCA and DHCA are associated with comparable incidences of sSIRS in patients following total aortic arch replacement for type A aortic dissection. However, the MHCA group had a shorter cardiopulmonary bypass time, a shorter post-operative length of stay and lower pulmonary infection and gastrointestinal hemorrhage rates than the DHCA group. We cautiously recommend the use of MHCA for most total arch replacements in patients with type A aortic dissection.

Retrospective Analysis of Esophageal Foreign Body Ingestion: Differences Among Weekday, Weekends, and Holidays.

PURPOSE: Current data on the occurrence of EFBs in relation to different time periods are scant. The purpose of this study was to compare the occurrence, type and location of EFBs in people who presented at our center on weekdays, weekends and holidays. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients (n=1353) received rigid esophagoscopy for foreign body extraction under general anesthesia from January 2018 to 2020 December. RESULTS: The occurrence of EFB ingestion was significantly higher (p<0.05) on holidays (2.75/day) than on weekdays (0.91/day) and weekends (1.46/day). Patients were much older on holidays, with a mean age of 58.18 ± 17.34 years, than patients on weekdays (54.71 ± 16.71 years) and weekends (55.05 ± 17.36 years). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that EFB ingestion is most likely to occur on weekends and holidays, and elderly patients should be advised to chewing slowly and eating non-nuclear jujube, especially during holidays, to minimize their risk.

Using Machine Learning to Predict Postoperative Liver Dysfunction After Aortic Arch Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The study compared machine-learning models with traditional logistic regression to predicting liver outcomes after aortic arch surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective review from January 2013 to May 2017. SETTING: Fuwai Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 672 consecutive patients who had undergone aortic arch surgery. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Three machine-learning methods were compared with logistic regression with regard to the prediction of postoperative liver dysfunction (PLD) after aortic arch surgery. The perioperative characteristics, including the patients' baseline medical condition and intraoperative data, were analyzed. The performance of the models was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Naïve Bayes had the best discriminative ability for the prediction of PLD (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.77) compared with random forest (0.76), support vector machine (0.73), and logistic regression (0.72). The primary endpoint of PLD was observed in 185 patients (27.5%). The cardiopulmonary bypass time, long surgery time, long aortic clamp time, high preoperative bilirubin value, and low rectal temperature were strongly associated with the development of PLD after aortic arch surgery. CONCLUSION: The machine-learning method of naïve Bayes predicts PLD after aortic arch surgery significantly better than traditional logistic regression.

90 days impacts of remote ischemic preconditioning on patients undergoing open total aortic arch replacement: a post-hoc analysis of previous trial.

BACKGROUND: In the previous randomized controlled trial by our research group, we evaluated the effect of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) in 130 patients (65 per arm) on acute kidney injury (AKI) within 7 days of open total aortic arch replacement. Significantly fewer RIPC-treated patients than sham-treated patients developed postoperative AKI, and, epically, RIPC significantly reduced serious AKI (stage II-III). However, the long-term effect of RIPC in patients undergoing open total aortic arch replacement is unclear. METHODS: This study was a post-hoc analysis. We aimed to assess the roles of RIPC in major adverse kidney events (MAKE), defined as consisting persistent renal dysfunction, renal replacement therapy and mortality, within 90 days after surgery in patients receiving open total aortic arch replacement. RESULTS: In this 90-day follow-up study, data were available for all study participants. We found that RIPC failed to improve the presence of MAKE within 90 days after surgery (RIPC: 7 of 65[10.8%]) vs sham: 15 of 65[23.1%]; P = 0.061). In those patients who developed AKI after surgery, we found that the rate of MAKE within 90 days after surgery differed between the RIPC group and the sham group (RIPC: 4 of 36[11.2%]; sham: 14 of 48[29.2%]; P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: At 90 days after open total aortic arch replacement, we failed to find a difference between the renoprotective effects of RIPC and sham treatment. The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of RIPC should be further investigated in a large randomized sham-controlled trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Fuwai Hospital (No. 2016-835) and our previous study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov before patient enrollment ( NCT03141385 ; principal investigator: G.W.; date of registration: March 5, 2017).

Using Machine Learning to Predict Acute Kidney Injury After Aortic Arch Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Machine learning models were compared with traditional logistic regression with regard to predicting kidney outcomes after aortic arch surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Single quaternary care center, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 897 consecutive patients who underwent aortic arch surgery from January 2013 to May 2017. Three machine learning methods were compared with logistic regression with regard to the prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) after aortic arch surgery. Perioperative characteristics, including patients' baseline medical condition and intraoperative data, were analyzed. The performance of the models was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary endpoint, postoperative AKI, was defined using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. During the first 7 postoperative days, AKI was observed in 652 patients (72.6%), and stage 2 or 3 AKI developed in 283 patients (31.5%). Gradient boosting had the best discriminative ability for the prediction of all stages of AKI in both the binary classification and the multiclass classification (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.8 and 0.71, respectively) compared with logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest methods. CONCLUSION: Machine learning methods were found to predict AKI after aortic arch surgery significantly better than traditional logistic regression.

Postoperative liver dysfunction after total arch replacement combined with frozen elephant trunk implantation: incidence, risk factors and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The authors aimed to clarify the incidence and risk factors of postoperative liver dysfunction (PLD) in patients undergoing total arch replacement combined with frozen elephant trunk implantation and to determine the association of PLD with short-term outcomes. METHODS: Data from 672 adult patients undergoing total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk from January 2013 until December 2016 at Fuwai Hospital were analysed retrospectively. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the risk factors for PLD. RESULTS: The overall incidence of PLD was 27.5%, which was associated with higher in-hospital mortality (PLD 4.9% vs No PLD 0.8%, P = 0.002) and 30-day mortality (PLD 9.2% vs No PLD 2.5%, P < 0.001) and a higher incidence of major adverse events (PLD 54.6% vs No PLD 23.4%, P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, preoperative hypotension [odds ratio (OR) 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-3.41; P = 0.02), coronary artery disease (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.17-5.96; P = 0.02), prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass duration (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01; P < 0.001), increased preoperative alanine transferase (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01; P < 0.001), preoperative platelet count <100 × 109/l (OR 3.99, 95% CI 1.74-9.14; P = 0.001) and increased intraoperative erythrocyte transfusion (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.12; P = 0.02) were identified as independent risk factors for PLD. CONCLUSIONS: PLD was associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Among the independent risk factors for PLD, cardiopulmonary bypass duration and erythrocyte transfusion could be modifiable. A skilled surgical team and an ideal blood protection strategy may be helpful to protect liver function.

Single-Stage Hybrid Aortic Arch Repair is Associated With a Lower Incidence of Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury Than Conventional Aortic Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The authors compared the renal outcomes of single-stage hybrid aortic arch repair without deep hypothermic circulatory arrest versus conventional total arch replacement in management of thoracic aortic diseases. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective review from January 2013 to December 2016 in Fuwai Hospital of 757 consecutive patients who underwent aortic arch repair: conventional total arch replacement (CTAR, 651), and hybrid arch repair (HAR, 106), with propensity matching (95 pairs). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary end-point was postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) defined using the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome criteria. The secondary end-point was short-term outcomes such as in-hospital mortality and paraplegia determined by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The patients in the HAR group were older (60.20 ± 9.95 v 46.43 ± 10.79, p < 0.0001) and exhibited a greater rate of diabetes (11.3% v 2.0%, p = 0.0004), hyperlipidemia (47.2% v 25.4%, p < 0.0001), and coronary artery disease (13.2% v 4.3%, p < 0.0001) than those in the CTAR group. Following propensity score matching of 95 matched pairs, the difference in preoperative risk diminished. The HAR group led to a shorter cardiopulmonary bypass time (133.33 ± 41.47 v 179.62 ± 40.79, p < 0.0001) and avoided circulatory arrest. The incidence of postoperative AKI between HAR and CTAR groups was significantly different (before match: 75.5% v 59.45%, p = 0.0046; after match: 78.9% v 57.9%, p = 0.0008). CONCLUSION: In the management of thoracic aortic diseases, HAR is associated with a significantly lower incidence of postoperative AKI, and showed equivalent short-term outcomes despite the older age compared with the CTAR group.

Moderate and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest has a comparable effect on acute kidney injury after total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk procedure in type A aortic dissection.

OBJECTIVES: The goal was to investigate the prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI) after total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk procedure, which was achieved by antegrade cerebral perfusion and moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest (MHCA) or deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) among patients with type A aortic dissection. METHODS: Overall, 627 adult type A aortic dissection patients who underwent total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk from January 2013 until December 2016 at Fuwai Hospital were divided into the DHCA (14.1-20.0°C) and MHCA (20.1-28.0°C) groups. Postoperative AKI as the primary outcome was compared using propensity-matched scoring. RESULTS: Overall, 340 (54.2%) and 287 (45.8%) patients underwent DHCA and MHCA, respectively. The overall incidence of AKI was 75.4%. Age [odds ratio (OR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.04; P = 0.022], body mass index (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12; P = 0.016), cardiopulmonary bypass duration (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01; P = 0.003) and hypertension history (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.14-2.70; P = 0.010) were identified as independent risk factors for AKI onset with multivariable analysis. Postoperative AKI was not significantly different between the DHCA and MHCA groups regardless of the overall or propensity-matched cohort (overall data: P = 0.17; propensity score data: P = 0.88). Patients with MHCA experienced higher rates of postoperative stroke after propensity score analysis (DHCA 0.9% vs MHCA 3.7%; P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: MHCA was not superior to DHCA in decreasing postoperative AKI. Thus, MHCA should not definitively replace DHCA.

Cardioprotective effect of remote ischemic preconditioning with postconditioning on donor hearts in patients undergoing heart transplantation: a single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The cardioprotective effect of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) in cardiovascular surgery is controversial. This study investigated whether RIPC combined with remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPostC) reduces myocardial injury to donor hearts in patients undergoing heart transplantation. METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients scheduled for orthotopic heart transplantation were enrolled and randomly assigned to an RIPC+RIPostC group (n = 60) or a control (n = 60) group. In the RIPC+RIPostC group, after anesthesia induction, four cycles of 5-min of ischemia and 5-min of reperfusion were applied to the right upper limb by a cuff inflated to 200 mmHg (RIPC) and 20 min after aortic declamping (RIPostC). Serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels were determined preoperatively and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 h after aortic declamping. Postoperative clinical outcomes were recorded. The primary endpoint was a comparison of serum cTnI levels at 6 h after aortic declamping. RESULTS: Compared with the preoperative baseline, in both groups, serum cTnI levels peaked at 6 h after aortic declamping. Compared with the control group, RIPC+RIPostC significantly reduced serum cTnI levels at 6 h after aortic declamping (38.87 ± 31.81 vs 69.30 ± 34.13 ng/ml, P = 0.02). There were no significant differences in in-hospital morbidity and mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation, RIPC combined with RIPostC reduced myocardial injury at 6 h after aortic declamping, while we found no evidence of this function provided by RIPC+RIPostC could improve clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial Registration Number: chictr.org.cn . no. ChiCTR-INR-16010234 (prospectively registered). The initial registration date was 9/1/2017.

Remote Ischemic Preconditioning Prevents Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury After Open Total Aortic Arch Replacement: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury is a common complication after open total aortic arch replacement but lacks effective preventive strategies. Remote ischemic preconditioning has controversial results of its benefit to the kidney and may perform better in high-risk patients of acute kidney injury. We investigated whether remote ischemic preconditioning would prevent postoperative acute kidney injury after open total aortic arch replacement. METHODS: We enrolled 130 patients scheduled for open total aortic arch replacement and randomized them to receive either remote ischemic preconditioning (4 cycles of 5-minute right upper limb ischemia and 5-minute reperfusion) or sham preconditioning (4 cycles of 5-minute right upper limb pseudo ischemia and 5-minute reperfusion), both via blood pressure cuff inflation and deflation. The primary end point was the incidence of acute kidney injury within 7 days after the surgery defined by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Secondary end point included short-term clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Significantly fewer patients developed postoperative acute kidney injury with remote ischemic preconditioning compared with sham (55.4% vs 73.8%; absolute risk reduction, 18.5%; 95% CI, 2.3%-34.6%; P = .028). Remote ischemic preconditioning significantly reduced acute kidney injury stage II-III (10.8% vs 35.4%; P = .001). Remote ischemic preconditioning shortened the mechanical ventilation duration (18 hours [interquartile range, 14-33] versus 25 hours [interquartile range, 17-48]; P = .01), whereas no significant differences were observed between groups in other secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Remote ischemic preconditioning prevented acute kidney injury after open total aortic arch replacement, especially severe acute kidney injury and shortened mechanical ventilation duration. The observed renoprotective effects of remote ischemic preconditioning require further investigation in both clinical research and the underlying mechanism.

Preoperative platelet count, preoperative hemoglobin concentration and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest duration are risk factors for acute kidney injury after pulmonary endarterectomy: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major postoperative morbidity of patients undergoing cardiac surgery and has a negative effect on prognosis. The kidney outcomes after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) have not yet been reported; However, several perioperative characteristics of PEA may induce postoperative AKI. The objective of our study was to identify the incidence and risk factors for postoperative AKI and its association with short-term outcomes. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational, cohort study. Assessments of AKI diagnosis was executed based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 123 consecutive patients who underwent PEA between 2014 and 2018 were included. The incidence of postoperative AKI was 45% in the study population. Stage 3 AKI was associated with worse short-term outcomes and 90-day mortality (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively). The independent predictors of postoperative AKI were the preoperative platelet count (OR 0.992; 95%CI 0.984-0.999; P = 0.022), preoperative hemoglobin concentration (OR 0.969; 95%CI 0.946-0.993; P = 0.01) and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) time (OR 1.197; 95%CI 1.052-1.362; P = 0.006) in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The incidence of postoperative AKI was relatively high after PEA compared with other types of cardiothoracic surgeries. The preoperative platelet count, preoperative hemoglobin concentration and DHCA duration were modifiable predictors of AKI, and patients may benefit from some low-risk, low-cost perioperative measures.