Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis of adjusted risk estimates for survival from observational studies of complete versus incomplete revascularization in patients with multivessel disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
To determine whether coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with complete revascularization improves survival in patients with multivessel disease (MVD) over CABG with incomplete revascularization, we performed a meta-analysis of adjusted (but not unadjusted) risk estimates from observational studies. Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through October 2013 using Web-based search engines (PubMed, OVID). Eligible studies were observational studies of complete- versus incomplete-revascularization CABG enrolling ≥ 100 patients with MVD in each treatment arm and reporting an adjusted hazard ratio for follow-up mortality. ⋯ A pooled analysis demonstrated a statistically significant 37% reduction in follow-up mortality with complete- relative to incomplete-revascularization CABG (hazard ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.75; P < 0.00001). Although meta-regression coefficients were not statistically significant for mean follow-up duration and age and proportion of men and patients undergoing off-pump CABG, that for proportion of patients with diabetes was significantly negative (P = 0.03), which would indicate that as patients with diabetes increase, complete-revascularization CABG is more beneficial for survival. In conclusion, complete-revascularization CABG appears to improve survival over incomplete-revascularization CABG in patients with MVD.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisAntioxidant supplementations for prevention of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: an updated comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials.
This systematic review with meta-analysis sought to determine the impact of antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine [NAC], polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAs] and vitamins) on incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) and duration of length of hospital stay. Medline, Embase, Elsevier, Sciences online database and Google Scholar literature search was made for studies in randomized controlled trials. The effect sizes measured were odds ratio (OR) for categorical variable and standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for calculating differences between mean values of duration of hospitalization in intervention and control groups. ⋯ Hospital length of stay was not reduced after NAC therapy (SMD: 0.082, 95% CI -0.09 to 0.25, P = 0.3), but could be decreased with PUFA (SMD: -0.185, 95% CI: -0.35 to -0.018, P = 0.03) and vitamin C (SMD: -0.325, 95% CI -0.50 to -0.14, P < 0.01). In conclusion, perioperative antioxidant supplementations with NAC, PUFA and vitamin C prevent atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. Moreover, PUFA and vitamin C are capable to reduce hospital stay, whereas NAC lacks this capacity.
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Acute kidney injury develops in up to 30% of patients who undergo cardiac surgery, with up to 3% of patients requiring dialysis. The requirement for dialysis after cardiac surgery is associated with an increased risk of infection, prolonged stay in critical care units and long-term need for dialysis. The development of acute kidney injury is independently associated with substantial short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Nonetheless, there is little compelling evidence from randomized trials supporting specific interventions to protect or prevent acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients. Several strategies have shown some promise, including less invasive procedures in those at greatest risk, natriuretic peptide, fenoldopam, preoperative hydration, preoperative optimization of anaemia and postoperative early use of renal replacement therapy. The efficacy of larger-scale trials remains to be confirmed.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisAnalgesic efficacy and safety of thoracic paravertebral and epidural analgesia for thoracic surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Though once considered the gold standard, epidural anaesthesia has complications that may be significant and include hypotension, urinary retention, partial or patchy block and, in rare cases, devastating neurological injuries also. Paravertebral block (PVB) is an alternative technique for unilateral surgical procedures like thoracotomy, which may offer similar analgesic effectiveness and a more favourable side-effect profile than epidural analgesia. This systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized clinical trials aims to compare thoracic paravertebral with thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) in thoracotomy for lung surgery. ⋯ Considering studies not included in the previous meta-analysis, a VAS score on activity at 48 h is significantly better in the PVB group (mean difference 0.40 cm; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.77, 0.02; Mantel-Haenszel (M-H) fixed). Hypotension (odds ratio 0.13; 95% CI 0.06, 0.31; M-H fixed) and urinary retention are more common in the epidural analgesia group. So, we conclude that thoracic PVB may be as effective as thoracic epidural analgesia for post-thoracotomy pain relief and is also associated with fewer complications.
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A best evidence topic in thoracic surgery was performed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was the role of frailty scores in predicting outcomes of patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Seventy-one papers were found using the reported search, of which three studies and one conference abstract represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. ⋯ Their conclusion supported the conclusions drawn from the larger studies that a single frailty measure alone did not predict an increase in morbidity or mortality, but in combination several measures may have a role in predicting postoperative outcomes. The clinical bottom line is that there is a paucity of evidence to either fully support or fully refute the use of preoperative frailty scoring as a reliable means of predicting morbidity and mortality in thoracic surgery. The evidence presented does however indicate the potentially important clinical role that frailty scores may have in the future.