Seminars in cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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This article summarizes techniques used in reoperative cardiac surgery, outlines a risk-stratified approach to operative planning, and reviews the literature on outcomes after reoperative valvular and coronary surgery.
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There is increasing evidence that the microcirculation and its regulation are severely compromised during many pathological conditions, such as hemorrhage, sepsis, or trauma. The effects of anesthetic agents on macrohemodynamics were investigated intensively in the last several decades. ⋯ Alterations in microvascular reactivity, nitric oxide pathways, and cytokine release are presumably the main mechanisms of anesthetic-induced tissue perfusion changes. This review summarizes current methods of microcirculatory status assessment and current knowledge regarding the microcirculatory effects of intravenous and potent volatile anesthetics and anesthesia-related techniques under both normal and pathophysiological conditions.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Dec 2009
Comparative StudyChoice of hemostatic agent and hospital length of stay in cardiovascular surgery.
Hemostatic agents (HAs) are efficacious in reducing blood loss during surgery, which may affect postoperative length of stay (LOS). The purpose of this study was to compare the expected and actual LOS by HA in cardiac procedures. Hospital claims data between 2003 and 2006 were extracted from a US service-level comparative database. ⋯ FLOSEAL was associated with less likelihood of exceeding expected LOS compared with baseline (odds ratio = 0.791; P < .01). Among patients who did exceed expected LOS, FLOSEAL patients did so at a reduced rate (incidence rate ratio = 0.891; P < .01). Further assessment is warranted to distinguish products with favorable outcomes.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Dec 2009
The need for specialized preanesthesia clinics for day admission cardiac and major vascular surgery patients.
The majority of patients undergoing surgical procedures today are not admitted to the hospital prior to the morning of surgery. In a medical world that strives not only for patient safety, but also for cost containment, Day Admission Surgery (DAS) plays an important role in our healthcare systems. This is true even for patients undergoing cardiac and major vascular (CMV) procedures. ⋯ Following initiation of our clinic, we performed a patient satisfaction survey. We report these findings along with the demographic data concerning the patients and types of surgeries evaluated in our initial experience. Finally, we discuss the preoperative evaluation including various areas of assessment provided by our PAC.