Impact of Frailty on Postoperative Dysphagia in Patients Undergoing Elective Cardiovascular Surgery

Temporal recovery and prognostic factors for dysphagia following cardiovascular surgery: Retrospective analysis and development of predictive score

OBJECTIVE

Dysphagia is a common complication associated with cardiovascular surgery (CVS). This study sought to better understand recovery timelines, identify risk factors, and create a prognostic model for oral intake restoration.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 134 patients who had CVS between April 2022 and March 2024. We assessed swallowing ability through fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). We randomly divided the patients' data into a training dataset and a test dataset in a ratio of 70/30 and Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox regression were used to assess predictors of total oral intake. We also created a scoring system using the estimated regression coefficients.

RESULTS

Most patients with CVS achieved total oral intake in 7-11 days after extubation. Over 168 h of intubation, the presence of penetration or aspiration, a poor FEES score (score > 6), and perioperative complications were significant risk factors for delayed total oral intake. The predicting score was calculated by adding the scores for each individual factor, including FEES score, penetration/aspiration, and preoperative complications. Scores ranged 0-8, categorizing patients into 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8 groups, clearly demonstrating that the higher the predicting score, the longer the time to total oral intake in both the training and the test dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

All risk factors for unsuccessful or delayed total oral intake were intubation for more than a week, poor swallowing ability, and the presence of perioperative complications. The scoring system accurately predicts the restoration of oral intake following CVS.

The development of a risk assessment tool for patients with postoperative pneumonia after gastrectomy for gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Although frail patients are known to experience increased postoperative complications, this is unclear for postoperative pneumonia (POP). We investigated associations between frailty and POP in patients with gastric cancer (GC) undergoing gastrectomy.

METHODS

In this prospective study conducted between August 2016 and December 2022, we preoperatively assessed frailty in 341 patients with GC undergoing gastrectomy using a frailty index (FI). Patients were divided into high FI vs low FI groups to examine frailty and pneumonia rates after gastrectomy for GC.

RESULTS

Of 327 patients, 18 (5.5%) experienced POP after gastrectomy. Multivariate analyses showed that a high FI and total or proximal gastrectomy (TG/PG) were independent risk factors for POP (high FI: odds ratio [OR], 5.00; 95% CI, 1.77-15.54; TG/PG: OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.09-8.78). The proportion of patients with POP was 2.4% in those with nonhigh FI and non-TG/PG, 5.3% in those with nonhigh FI and TG/PG, 7.1% in those with high FI and non-TG/PG, and 28.0% in those with high FI and TG/PG (P < .001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this risk assessment for predicting POP was 0.740.

CONCLUSION

In patients with GC undergoing gastrectomy, POP was independently associated with preoperatively high FI and TG/PG. Our simple POP risk assessment method, which combines these factors, may effectively predict and prepare patients for POP.

Impact of maximum phonation time on postoperative dysphagia and prognosis after cardiac surgery

Objective

The incidence of postoperative complications, including dysphagia, increases as the population undergoing cardiovascular surgery ages. This study aimed to explore the potential of maximum phonation time (MPT) as a simple tool for predicting postextubation dysphagia (PED) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs).

Methods

This retrospective study included 442 patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery at a university hospital. MPT was measured before surgery, and patients were stratified into 2 groups based on normal and abnormal MPTs. Postoperative complications, including PED and MACCEs, were also investigated. Swallowing status was assessed using the Food Intake Level Scale.

Results

MPT predicted PED with prevalence of 11.0% and 18.0% in the normal and abnormal MPT groups, respectively (P = .01). During the follow-up period, MACCEs developed in 17.0% of patients. Frailty, European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II score, PED, and MPT were markedly associated with MACCEs (adjusted hazard ratios: 2.25, 1.08, 1.96, and 0.96, respectively). Mediation analysis revealed that MPT positively influenced PED and MACCEs, whereas PED positively influenced MACCEs. The trend in restricted cubic spline analysis indicated that the hazard ratio for MACCEs increased sharply when MPT was <10 seconds.

Conclusions

These findings underscore the potential of MPT as a valuable tool in the preoperative assessment and management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. By incorporating MPT into routine preoperative evaluations, clinicians can identify patients at a higher risk of PED and MACCEs, allowing for targeted interventions and closer postoperative monitoring. This may improve patient outcomes and reduce the health care costs associated with these complications.

Development of predictive score for postoperative dysphagia after emergency abdominal surgery in patients of advanced age

Aim

Postoperative dysphagia after emergency abdominal surgery (EAS) in patients of advanced age has become problematic, and appropriate dysphagia management is needed. This study was performed to identify predictive factors of dysphagia after EAS and to explore the usefulness of swallowing screening tools (SSTs).

Methods

This retrospective study included 267 patients of advanced age who underwent EAS from 2012 to 2022. They were assigned to a dysphagia group and non-dysphagia group using the Food Intake Level Scale (FILS) (dysphagia was defined as a FILS level of <7 on postoperative day 10). From 2018, original SSTs including a modified water swallowing test were performed by nurses.

Results

The incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 22.8% (61/267). Patients were significantly older in the dysphagia than non-dysphagia group. The proportions of patients who had poor nutrition, cerebrovascular disorder, Parkinson's disease, dementia, nursing-care service, high intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC), and postoperative ventilator management were much higher in the dysphagia than non-dysphagia group. Using logistic regression analysis, high IMAC, postoperative ventilator management, cerebrovascular disorder, and dementia were correlated with postoperative dysphagia and were assigned 10, 4, 3, and 3 points, respectively, according to each odds ratio. The optimal cut-off value was 7 according to a receiver operating characteristics curve. Using 1:1 propensity score matching for high-risk patients, the incidence of postoperative dysphagia was reduced by SSTs.

Conclusions

The new prediction score obtained from this study can identify older patients at high risk for dysphagia after EAS, and SSTs may improve these patients' short-term outcomes.

Postoperative dysphagia as a predictor of functional decline and prognosis after undergoing cardiovascular surgery

AIMS

Post-extubation dysphagia (PED), an often overlooked problem, is a common and serious complication associated with mortality and major morbidity after cardiovascular surgery. Dysphagia is considered an age-related disease, and evaluating its long-term effects is a pressing issue with rapidly progressing ageing worldwide. Therefore, we examined the effect of PED on functional status and long-term cardiovascular events in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This single-centre, retrospective cohort study included 712 patients who underwent elective cardiovascular surgery and met the inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into PED and non-PED groups based on their post-operative swallowing status. The swallowing status was assessed using the Food Intake Level Scale. Functional status was evaluated as hospital-associated disability (HAD), defined as a decrease in activities of daily living after hospital discharge compared with preoperative values. The patients were subsequently followed up to detect major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs). Post-extubation dysphagia was present in 23% of the 712 patients and was independently associated with HAD (adjusted odds ratio, 2.70). Over a 3.5-year median follow-up period, MACCE occurred in 14.1% of patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed HAD to be independently associated with an increased risk of MACCE (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.85), although PED was not significantly associated with MACCE.

CONCLUSION

Post-extubation dysphagia was an independent HAD predictor, with the odds of HAD occurrence being increased by 2.7-fold due to PED. Hospital-associated disability accompanied by PED is a powerful predictor of poor prognosis. Perioperative evaluation and management of the swallowing status, and appropriate therapeutic interventions, are warranted.