Perioperative Serum Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Cardiac Troponin in Elective Intracranial Surgery

A prospective exploratory study to assess echocardiographic changes in patients with supratentorial tumors - Effect of craniotomy and tumor decompression

Background

Functional changes in the myocardium secondary to increased intracranial pressure (ICP) are studied sparingly. Direct echocardiographic changes in patients with supratentorial tumors have not been documented. The primary aim was to assess and compare the transthoracic echocardiography changes in patients with supratentorial tumors presenting with and without raised intracranial pressure for neurosurgery.

Methods

Patients were divided into two groups based on preoperative radiological and clinical evidence of midline shift of <6 mm without features of raised ICP (Group 1) or greater than 6mm with features of raised ICP (Group 2). Hemodynamic, echocardiographic, and optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) parameters were obtained during the preoperative period and 48 h after the surgery.

Results

Ninety patients were assessed, 88 were included for analysis. Two were excluded based on a poor echocardiographic window (1) and change in the operative plan (1). Demographic variables were comparable. About 27% of the patients in Group 2 had ejection fraction <55% and 21.2% had diastolic dysfunction in Group 2 in the preoperative period. There was a decrease in the number of patients with a left ventricular (LV) function <55% from 27% before surgery to 19% in the postoperative period in group 2. About 5.8% patients with moderate LV dysfunction in the preoperative period had normal LV function postoperatively. We found a positive correlation between ONSD parameters and radiological findings of raised intracranial pressure.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated that in patients with supratentorial tumors with ICP, cardiac dysfunction might be present in the preoperative period.

Brain Natriuretic Peptide as a Marker of Adverse Neurological Outcomes Among Survivors of Cardiac Arrest

BACKGROUND

Neurological prognosis after cardiac arrest remains ill-defined. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) may relate to poor neurological prognosis in brain-injury patients, though it has not been well studied in survivors of cardiac arrest.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective review and examined the association of BNP with mortality and neurological outcomes at discharge in a cohort of cardiac arrest survivors enrolled from January 2012 to December 2016 at the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, in North Carolina. Cerebral performance category (CPC) and modified Rankin scales were calculated from the chart based on neurological evaluation performed at the time of discharge. The cohort was subdivided into quartiles based on their BNP levels after which multivariable adjusted logistic regression models were applied to assess for an association between BNP and poor neurological outcomes as defined by a CPC of 3 to 4 and a modified Rankin scale of 4 to 5.

RESULTS

Of the 657 patients included in the study, 254 patients survived until discharge. Among these, poor neurological status was observed in 101 (39.8%) patients that had a CPC score of 3 to 4 and 97 patients (38.2%) that had a modified Rankin scale of 4 to 5. Mean BNP levels were higher in patients with poor neurological status compared to those with good neurological status at discharge (P = .03 for CPC 3-4 and P = .02 for modified Rankin score 4-5). BNP levels however, did not vary significantly between patients that survived and those that expired (P = .22). BNP did emerge as a significant discriminator between patients with severe neurological disability at discharge when compared to those without. The area under the curve for BNP predicting a modified Rankin score of 4 to 5 was 0.800 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.756-0.844, P < .001) and for predicting CPC 3 to 4 was 0.797 (95% CI 0.756-0.838, P < .001). BNP was able to significantly improve the net reclassification index and integrated discriminatory increment (P < .05). BNP was not associated with long-term all-cause mortality (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

In survivors of either inpatient or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, increased BNP levels measured at the time of arrest predicted severe neurological disability at discharge. We did not observe an independent association between BNP levels and long-term all-cause mortality. BNP may be a useful biomarker for predicting adverse neurological outcomes in survivors of cardiac arrest.

Clinical and Biological Correlates of Preoperative Cognitive Functioning of Glioma and Meningioma Patients

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) serum concentrations with cognitive functions of glioma and meningioma patients.

Methods

177 brain tumor patients awaiting for brain tumor surgery participated in the study. Patients were assessed preoperatively, using neuropsychological tests for verbal memory, psychomotor speed, mental flexibility, and verbal fluency. The functional status of patients was evaluated using the Karnofsky Performance Index. Blood samples were drawn for evaluation of serum hsCRP and NT-proBNP concentrations upon hospital admission.

Results

The highest NT-proBNP concentration was observed in meningioma patients. Glioma and meningioma patients did not differ in hsCRB concentration. Patients in the highest hsCRP tertile were older and more frequently reported cardiovascular comorbidity. Patients in the highest NT-proBNP tertile were older, more frequently with cardiovascular comorbidity, females, and diagnosed with a meningioma. hsCRP was significantly related to slower psychomotor speed in high-grade glioma patients (rho = 0.30, p < 0.05). In meningioma sample, NT-proBNP correlated with decreased psychomotor speed (rho = 0.38, p < 0.01), mental flexibility (rho = 0.33, p < 0.01), worse cumulative learning (rho = −0.27, p < 0.05), and delayed recall (rho = 0.30, p < 0.01). However, the relationship between the NT-proBNP and cognitive functions became nonsignificant when demographic and clinical covariates were included into analysis. Higher hsCRP concentration remained significantly related to slower psychomotor speed (p = 0.02) and worse mental flexibility (p = 0.05) in glioma patients, independently from demographic and clinical covariates. Preoperative cognitive functioning was also predicted by older age, gender, side and location of the tumor, and tumor malignancy, and general functional status of a patient.

Conclusions

NT-proBNP was not associated with memory, language, and attention/executive cognitive domains of glioma and meningioma patients. Increased hsCRP was related to slower psychomotor speed and worse mental flexibility in glioma patients, indicating that inflammation processes are important for cognitive functioning in glial tumors.

Preoperative N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concertation and prognosis of brain tumor patients: a 5-year follow up study

Increased N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration predicts poor prognosis of non-CNS cancer patients. We evaluated the association of NT-proBNP concentration with disease severity, discharge outcomes and prognosis of patients undergoing craniotomy for brain tumor. From January, 2010 until September, 2011 two-hundred and forty-five patients (age 55.05 ± 14.62 years) admitted for brain tumor surgery were evaluated for NT-proBNP serum concentration. Outcome at hospital discharge was evaluated with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Most common diagnoses were meningioma (37%) and high-grade glioma (20%). Greater NT-proBNP concentration was associated with lower Barthel index (rho = −0.305, p = 0.001) and Mini Mental State Examination scores (rho = −0.314, p = 0.001) and with greater Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale Depression score (rho = 0.240, p = 0.026). Greater admission NT-proBNP concentration was associated with lower discharge GOS score after adjusting for patient age, gender and histological brain tumor diagnosis (β = −0.253, p < 0.001). Greater NT-proBNP concentration was also associated with greater 5-year mortality risk (HR = 1.845; 95%CI [1.166–2.920], p = 0.009) controlling for patient age, gender, history of cardiovascular disease, histological diagnosis and adjuvant therapy. In sum, greater pre-operative NT-proBNP concentration is associated with worse health status, unfavorable discharge outcome and shorter survival of brain tumor patients.

Infective rhomboencephalitis and inverted Takotsubo: neurogenic-stunned myocardium or myocarditis?

Here we originally describe the clinical scenario of a young immune-competent patient affected by acute rhomboencephalitis with severe parenchymal edema and acute hydrocephalus who developed sudden life-threatening cardiac derangement. Hemodynamic and perfusion parameters revealed cardiogenic shock, so intensive circulatory support with epinephrine infusion and intra-aortic balloon pump was needed to restore organ perfusion. Transesophageal echocardiographic examination showed severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction as low as 20%) with wall motion abnormalities resembling a pattern of Takotsubo-inverted cardiomyopathy. Cultural investigations revealed infection by Listeria monocytogenes. Nevertheless, her conditions rapidly improved, and she had full cardiac recovery within few days. Acute cerebral damage, pattern of echocardiographic wall motion abnormalities, and clinical course may suggest neurogenic stunned as pathological mechanism responsible for cardiac dysfunction, but differential diagnosis with acute myocarditis is to be considered too. Acute cardiogenic shock during the course of rhomboencephalitis by L monocytogenes has not been yet reported; prompt clinical suspicion and intensive care are needed to manage this life-threatening condition.