The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Comparative Study
Comparison between different risk scoring algorithms on isolated conventional or transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
There are a number of scoring systems for risk evaluation in cardiac surgery, the most important of which are the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE), The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score, the ACEF score (acronym for age, preoperative creatinine, and ejection fraction), and more recently, the new EuroSCORE-II. The aim of our study was to analyze and compare the predictive value of these scores in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). ⋯ Overall, 30-day mortality was best predicted by the STS score. Discrimination threshold predicting mortality was equal between all other risk calculators. Surprisingly, the new EuroSCORE-II was not superior to other models in risk prediction for AVR and TAVR patients.
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Cardiac surgery in infants results in a profound inflammatory response secondary to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the need for blood products. It is not clear how this inflammatory response modulates postoperative course or whether quantification of proinflammatory cytokines can aid with risk stratification. In this study, we prospectively assessed a panel of candidate markers to determine the time course for inflammation and the association of specific markers with clinical outcomes defined as intensive care unit length of stay (LOS). ⋯ In summary, neonatal heart surgery for complex lesions elicits a broad inflammatory response. This early inflammatory response appears nonspecific and did not predict clinical course. Persistence of specific inflammatory mediators on the third day after surgery, however, provided important prognostic information. As such, select cytokines may serve as valuable biomarkers in this population. Whether strategies targeting specific cytokines can alter clinical course is not known.
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Numerous gaseous microemboli (GME) are delivered into the arterial circulation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). These emboli damage end organs through multiple mechanisms that are thought to contribute to neurocognitive deficits after cardiac surgery. Here, we use hypobaric oxygenation to reduce dissolved gases in blood and greatly reduce GME delivery during CPB. ⋯ Hypobaric oxygenation is an effective, low-cost, common sense approach that capitalizes on the simple physical makeup of GME to achieve their near-total elimination during CPB. This technique holds great potential for limiting end-organ damage and improving outcomes in a variety of patients undergoing extracorporeal circulation.
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Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collaterals (PA/VSD/MAPCAs) is a complex and diverse form of congenital heart defect. Although most patients with PA/VSD/MAPCAs can wait until they are 3 to 6 months of age to undergo surgical reconstruction, there are three specific criteria that merit an earlier repair. These 3 criteria are (1) unremitting heart failure; (2) a ductus to one lung and MAPCAs to the other; and (3) hemitruncus to one lung and MAPCAs to the other. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our surgical experience with early complete repair of PA/VSD/MAPCAs. ⋯ The data demonstrate that early complete repair of PA/VSD/MAPCAs can be accomplished with low mortality and excellent postoperative hemodynamics. These early hemodynamic results are maintained at medium-term follow-up. We conclude that early complete repair is an appropriate choice for this highly select subgroup of patients.