Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting in Women: A Word of Caution.

BACKGROUND: Despite the superior hemodynamic performance of internal thoracic arteries, total arterial revascularization with exclusive bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITA) is less frequently used especially in specific subsets of patients, including females. We report our experience with total arterial revascularization with exclusive BITA regardless of sex and analyze the impact of female sex on the early and midterm outcomes. METHODS: Total arterial revascularization with exclusive BITA was performed with equal frequency in females (79/99, 80%) and males (392/477, 82%; P = .68) undergoing isolated CABG for 3-vessel disease. Pre, intra and postoperative data were compared between these two groups. RESULTS: Complete revascularization was achieved in 77% of females and 72% of males (P = .08). Early mortality did not differ between the groups (6.3% versus 4.6%, P = .7). The incidence of re-sternotomy for bleeding, postoperative stroke, myocardial infarction, new onset atrial fibrillation, and hemofiltration for renal failure did not differ between the two groups. However, there were significantly more wound revision for combined superficial and deep sternal wound infection in females (26.5% versus 5.1%, P = .0001). Nevertheless, midterm survival, freedom from repeat revascularization, myocardial infarction, stroke, and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events at five years were very good and compared favorably between females and males. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that total arterial myocardial revascularization with exclusive internal thoracic arteries in females carries the same midterm benefits as in males. Early outcomes are comparable except for a higher incidence of wound revision for combined superficial and deep sternal wound infections in females compared to males. Benefits of bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in females should be weighed against increased risk of early wound revision.

Association Between Shock Etiology and 5-Year Outcomes After Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of patients requiring venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) vary greatly by etiology, but large studies that incorporate the spectrum of shock supported with ECMO are rare. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe the etiology-related outcome of patients with shock supported with peripheral VA-ECMO. METHODS: All consecutive adults with peripheral VA-ECMO between January 2015 and August 2018 at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (Paris, France) were included in this retrospective observational study. The indication for VA-ECMO was cardiogenic shock. Rates of hospital death and neurological, renal, and pulmonary complications were evaluated according to etiology. RESULTS: Among 1,253 patients, hospital and 5-year survival rates were, respectively, 73.3% and 57.3% for primary graft failure, 58.6% and 54.0% for drug overdose, 53.2% and 45.3% for dilated cardiomyopathy, 51.6% and 50.0% for arrhythmic storm, 46.8% and 38.3% for massive pulmonary embolism, 44.4% and 42.4% for sepsis-induced cardiogenic shock, 37.9% and 32.9% for fulminant myocarditis, 37.3% and 31.5% for acute myocardial infarction, 34.6% and 33.3% for postcardiotomy excluding primary graft failure, 25.7% and 22.8% for other/unknown etiology, and 11.1% and 0.0% for refractory vasoplegia shock. Renal failure requiring hemodialysis developed in 50.0%, neurological complications in 16.0%, and hydrostatic pulmonary edema in 9.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Although the outcome differs depending on etiology, this difference is related more to the severity of the situation associated with the cause rather than the cause of the shock per se. Survival to 5 years varied by cause, which may reflect the natural course of the chronic disease and illustrates the need for long-term follow-up.

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for refractory in-hospital cardiac arrest: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a rescue therapy for refractory cardiac arrest, but its high mortality has raised questions about patient selection. No selection criteria have been proposed for patients experiencing in-hospital cardiac arrest. We aimed to identify selection criteria available at the time ECPR was considered for patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest. We analyzed data of in-hospital cardiac arrest patients undergoing ECPR in our extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) center (March 2007 to March 2019). Intensive care unit (ICU) and 1-year survival post-hospital discharge were assessed. Factors associated with ICU survival before ECPR were investigated. An external validation cohort from a previous multicenter study was used to validate our results. RESULTS: Among the 137 patients (67.9% men; median [IQR] age, 54 [43-62] years; low-flow duration, 45 [30-70] min) requiring ECPR, 32.1% were weaned-off ECMO. Their respective ICU- and 1-year survival rates were 21.9% and 19%. Most 1-year survivors had favorable neurological outcomes (cerebral performance category score 1 or 2). ICU survivors compared to nonsurvivors, respectively, were more likely to have a shockable initial rhythm (53.3% versus 24.3%; P < 0.01), a shorter median (IQR) low-flow time (30 (25-53) versus 50 (35-80) min, P < 0.01) and they more frequently underwent a subsequent intervention (63.3% versus 26.2%, P < 0.01). The algorithm obtained by combining age, initial rhythm and low-flow duration discriminated between patient groups with very different survival probabilities in the derivation and validation cohorts. CONCLUSION: Survival of ECPR-managed in-hospital cardiac arrest patients in this cohort was poor but hospital survivors' 1-year neurological outcomes were favorable. When deciding whether or not to use ECPR, the combination of age, initial rhythm and low-flow duration can improve patient selection.

Contemporary strategies to improve clinical trial design for critical care research: insights from the First Critical Care Clinical Trialists Workshop.

BACKGROUND: Conducting research in critically-ill patient populations is challenging, and most randomized trials of critically-ill patients have not achieved pre-specified statistical thresholds to conclude that the intervention being investigated was beneficial. METHODS: In 2019, a diverse group of patient representatives, regulators from the USA and European Union, federal grant managers, industry representatives, clinical trialists, epidemiologists, and clinicians convened the First Critical Care Clinical Trialists (3CT) Workshop to discuss challenges and opportunities in conducting and assessing critical care trials. Herein, we present the advantages and disadvantages of available methodologies for clinical trial design, conduct, and analysis, and a series of recommendations to potentially improve future trials in critical care. CONCLUSION: The 3CT Workshop participants identified opportunities to improve critical care trials using strategies to optimize sample size calculations, account for patient and disease heterogeneity, increase the efficiency of trial conduct, maximize the use of trial data, and to refine and standardize the collection of patient-centered and patient-informed outcome measures beyond mortality.

Prenatal diagnosis of Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP).

Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I (CN-I) is a rare and severe inherited disorder of bilirubin metabolism, caused by the total deficiency of bilirubin-UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. Enzymatic diagnosis cannot be performed in chorionic villi or amniocytes as UGT is not active in these tissues. The cloning of the UGT1 gene and the identification of disease-causing mutations have led to the possibility of performing DNA-based diagnosis. Here we report DNA-based prenatal diagnosis of CN-I in two Tunisian families in whom CN-I patients were diagnosed. As we had previously shown that CN-I was, in Tunisia, associated with homozygosity for the Q357R mutation within the UGT1 gene, we were able to detect this mutation in both families and to show that it was easily recognized by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. In both cases, SSCP analysis of fetal DNA showed that the fetus was heterozygous for the Q357R mutation. In one family, the pregnancy was carried to term and a healthy baby was born, whereas, in the other family, the pregnancy is still continuing. Thus the prenatal diagnosis of CN-I is possible, provided disease-causing mutations have been identified. SSCP analysis of DNA prepared either from amniocytes or from chorionic villi is a simple, reliable and fast method for prenatal diagnosis.