Early extubation is associated with reduced length of stay and improved outcomes after elective aortic surgery in the Vascular Quality Initiative

Factors Associated with and Outcomes of Respiratory Adverse Events Following Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair

OBJECTIVE

Respiratory adverse events (RAEs) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) remain poorly characterized due to the lack of comprehensive studies that identify individuals prone to these complications. This study aims to determine the incidence, factors associated with, and outcomes of RAEs after TEVAR.

METHODS

We identified Vascular Quality Initiative patients undergoing TEVAR isolated to zones 0-5 from 2010 to 2023 for non-traumatic pathologies. After determining the incidence of post-operative RAEs, we assessed baseline characteristics, pathology, procedural details, and postoperative complications stratified by respiratory complication status: none, pneumonia only, reintubation only, or both. We then examined pre- and intra-operative variables independently associated with the development of postoperative RAEs using multivariable modified Poisson regression. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to determine associations between postoperative RAEs and 5-year survival adjusting for preoperative variables and other non-respiratory post-operative complications in a separate model.

RESULTS

Of 10,708 patients, 8.3% had any RAE (pneumonia only: 2.1%, reintubation only: 4.8%, both: 1.4%). Patients with any RAE were more likely to present with aortic dissection (any respiratory complication: 46% vs no respiratory complication: 35%; p<.001), and be symptomatic (58% vs 48%;p<.001). Developing RAEs post-TEVAR was associated with male sex (aRR: 1.19 [95% CI: 1.01-1.41]; p=0.037), obesity (1.31[1.07-1.61]; p=0.009), morbid obesity (1.68[1.20-2.32]; p=0.002), renal dysfunction (eGFR 30-45: 1.45[1.15-1.82]; p=0.002; eGFR <30/hemodialysis: 1.7[1.37-2.11]; p<0.001), anemia (1.31[1.09-1.58]; p=0.003), aortic diameter >65mm (1.54[1.25-1.89]; p<0.001), proximal disease in the aortic arch (1.23[1.03-1.48]; p=0.025) or ascending aorta (1.61[1.19-2.14]; p=0.002), acute aortic dissection (2.13[1.72-2.63]; p<0.001), ruptured presentation (3.07[2.43-3.87]; p<0.001), same-day surgical thoracic branch treatment (1.51[1.25-1.82]; p<0.001), COPD on home oxygen (1.58[1.08-2.25]; p=0.014), limited self-care or bed-bound status (2.12[1.45-3.03]; p<0.001), and intraoperative transfusion (1.88[1.47-2.40]; p<0.001). Patients who developed post-operative RAEs had higher 30-day mortality (27% vs 4%; p<.001) and 5-year mortality than patients without respiratory complications (46% vs 20%; p<0.001). After adjusting for pre-operative and post-operative variables, 5-year mortality was higher in patients who developed any post-operative RAE (aHR: 1.8[1.6, 2.1]; p<.001), post-operative pneumonia only (1.4[1.0, 1.8];p=.046), reintubation only (2.2[1.8, 2.6]; p<.001) or both (1.5[1.1, 2.0]; p=.008).

CONCLUSIONS

RAEs after TEVAR are common, more likely to occur in male patients with obesity, renal dysfunction, anemia, COPD on home oxygen, acute aortic dissection, ruptured presentation, same-day surgical thoracic branch treatment, who received intra-operative transfusion, and are associated with a two-fold increase in 5-year mortality regardless of the development of other post-operative complications. Considering these factors in assessing risks and benefits of TEVAR procedures, along with implementing customized post-operative care, can potentially improve clinical outcomes.

Pulmonary function testing in preoperative high-risk patients

BACKGROUND

Postoperative respiratory failure is the most frequent complication in postsurgical patients. The purpose of this study is to assess whether pulmonary function testing in high-risk patients during preoperative assessment detects previously unknown respiratory impairments which may influence patient outcomes.

METHODS

A targeted patient screening by spirometry and the measurement of the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was implemented in the anesthesia department of a tertiary university hospital. Patients of all surgical disciplines who were at least 75 years old or exhibited reduced exercise tolerance with the metabolic equivalent of task less than four (MET < 4) were examined. Clinical characteristics, history of lung diseases, and smoking status were also recorded. The statistical analysis entailed t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression with backward elimination for group comparisons.

RESULTS

Among 256 included patients, 230 fulfilled the test quality criteria. Eighty-one (35.2%) patients presented obstructive ventilatory disorders, out of which 65 were previously unknown. 38 of the newly diagnosed obstructive disorders were mild, 18 moderate, and 9 severe. One hundred forty-five DLCO measurements revealed 40 (27.6%) previously unknown gas exchange impairments; 21 were mild, 17 moderate, and 2 severe. The pulmonary function parameters of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), and DLCO were significantly lower than the international reference values of a healthy population. Patients with a lower ASA class and no history of smoking exhibited higher FVC, FEV1, and DLCO values. Reduced exercise tolerance with MET < 4 was strongly associated with lower spirometry values.

CONCLUSIONS

Our screening program detected a relevant number of patients with previously unknown obstructive ventilatory disorders and impaired pulmonary gas exchange. This newly discovered sickness is associated with low metabolic equivalents and may influence perioperative outcomes. Whether optimized management of patients with previously unknown impaired lung function leads to a better outcome should be evaluated in multicenter studies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Registry of Clinical Studies (DRKS00029337), registered on: June 22nd, 2022.

Association of different central venous pressure levels with outcome of living-donor liver transplantation in children under 12 years

BACKGROUND

Pediatric liver transplantation is an important modality for treating biliary atresia. The overall survival (OS) rate of pediatric liver transplantation has significantly improved compared with that of 20 years ago, but it is still unsatisfactory. The anesthesia strategy of maintaining low central venous pressure (CVP) has shown a positive effect on prognosis in adult liver transplantation. However, this relationship remains unclear in pediatric liver transplantation. Thus, this study was conducted to review the data of pediatric living-donor liver transplantation to analyze the associations of different CVP levels with the prognosis of recipients.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study and the patients were divided into two groups according to CVP levels after abdominal closure: low CVP (LCVP) (≤ 10 cmH2O, n = 470) and high CVP (HCVP) (> 10 cmH2O, n = 242). The primary outcome measured in the study was the overall survival rate. The secondary outcomes included the duration of mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU), length of stay in the ICU, and postoperative stay in the hospital. Patient demographic and perioperative data were collected and compared between the two groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to determine the associations of different CVP levels with the survival rate.

RESULTS

In the study, 712 patients, including 470 in the LCVP group and 242 in the HCVP group, were enrolled. After propensity score matching, 212 pairs remained in the group. The LCVP group showed a higher overall survival rate than the HCVP group in the Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox regression analyses (P = 0.018), and the HCVP group had a hazard ratio of 2.445 (95% confidence interval, 1.163-5.140).

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed that a low-CVP level at the end of surgery is associated with improved overall survival and a shorter length of hospital stay.

Association of immediate versus delayed extubation of patients admitted to intensive care units postoperatively and outcomes: A retrospective study

AIM OF THIS STUDY

This study seeks to investigate, whether extubation of tracheally intubated patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) postoperatively either immediately at the day of admission (day 1) or delayed at the first postoperative day (day 2) is associated with differences in outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of data from an Austrian ICU registry. Adult patients admitted between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2019 following elective and emergency surgery, who were intubated at the day 1 and were extubated at day 1 or day 2, were included. We performed logistic regression analyses for in-hospital mortality and over-sedation or agitation following extubation.

RESULTS

52 982 patients constituted the main study population. 1 231 (3.3%) patients extubated at day 1 and 958 (5.9%) at day 2 died in hospital, 464 (1.3%) patients extubated at day 1 and 613 (3.8%) at day 2 demonstrated agitation or over-sedation after extubation during ICU stay; OR (95% CI) for in-hospital mortality were OR 1.17 (1.01-1.35, p = 0.031) and OR 2.15 (1.75-2.65, p<0.001) for agitation or over-sedation.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that immediate extubation as soon as deemed feasible by clinicians is associated with favourable outcomes and may thus be considered preferable in tracheally intubated patients admitted to ICU postoperatively.

Effect of differences in extubation timing on postoperative pneumonia following meningioma resection: a retrospective cohort study

Background

This study was designed to examine extubation time and to determine its association with postoperative pneumonia (POP) after meningioma resection.

Methods

We studied extubation time for 598 patients undergoing meningioma resection from January 2016 to December 2020. Extubation time was analysed as a categorical variable and patients were grouped into extubation within 21 minutes, 21–35 minutes and ≥ 35 minutes. Our primary outcome represented the incidence of POP. The association between extubation time and POP was assessed using multivariable logistic regression mixed-effects models which adjusted for confounders previously reported. Propensity score matching (PSM) was also performed at a ratio of 1:1 to minimize potential bias.

Results

Among 598 patients (mean age 56.1 ± 10.7 years, 75.8% female), the mean extubation time was 32.4 minutes. Extubation was performed within 21 minutes (32.4%), 21–35 minutes (31.2%) and ≥ 35 minutes (36.4%), respectively, after surgery. Older patients (mean age 57.8 years) were prone to delayed extubation (≥ 35 min) in the operating room, and more inclined to perioperative fluid infusion. When extubation time was analysed as a continuous variable, there was a U-shaped relation of extubation time with POP (P for nonlinearity = 0.044). After adjustment for confounders, extubation ≥35 minutes was associated with POP (odds ratio [OR], 2.73 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36 ~ 5.47). Additionally, the results after PSM were consistent with those before matching.

Conclusions

Delayed extubation after meningioma resection is associated with increased pneumonia incidence. Therefore, extubation should be performed as early as safely possible in the operation room.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-022-01836-w.

Prevent deterioration and long-term ventilation: intensive care following thoracic surgery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Patients with indication for lung surgery besides the pulmonary pathology often suffer from independent comorbidities affecting several other organ systems. Preventing patients from harmful complications due to decompensation of underlying organ insufficiencies perioperatively is pivotal. This review draws attention to the peri- and postoperative responsibility of the anaesthetist and intensivist to prevent patients undergoing lung surgery deterioration.

RECENT FINDINGS

During the last decades we had to accept that 'traditional' intensive care medicine implying deep sedation, controlled ventilation, liberal fluid therapy, and broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy because of several side-effects resulted in prolongation of hospital length of stay and a decline in quality of life. Modern therapy therefore should focus on the convalescence of the patient and earliest possible reintegration in the 'life-before.' Avoidance of sedative and anticholinergic drugs, early extubation, prophylactic noninvasive ventilation and high-flow nasal oxygen therapy, early mobilization, well-adjusted fluid balance and reasonable use of antibiotics are the keystones of success.

SUMMARY

A perioperative interprofessional approach and a change in paradigms are the prerequisites to improve outcome and provide treatment for elder and comorbid patients with an indication for thoracic surgery.

Hospital resource use and costs among abdominal aortic aneurysm repair patients admitted to the intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. As a result, many of these patients are monitored postoperatively in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, little is known about resource utilization and costs associated with ICU admission in this population. We sought to evaluate predictors of total costs among patients admitted to the ICU after repair of nonruptured or ruptured AAA.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected data (2011-2016) of ICU patients admitted after AAA repair. The primary outcome was total hospital costs. We used elastic net regression to identify pre-ICU admission predictors of hospitalization costs separately for nonruptured and ruptured AAA patients.

RESULTS

We included 552 patients in the analysis. Of these, 440 (79.7%) were admitted after repair of nonruptured AAA, and 112 (20.3%) were admitted after repair of ruptured AAA. The mean age of patients with nonruptured AAA was 74 (standard deviation, 9) years, and the mean age of patients with ruptured AAA was 70 (standard deviation, 8) years. Median total hospital cost (in Canadian dollars) was $21,555 (interquartile range, $17,798-$27,294) for patients with nonruptured AAA and $33,709 (interquartile range, $23,173-$53,913) for patients with ruptured AAA. Among both nonruptured and ruptured AAA patients, increasing age, illness severity, use of endovascular repair, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and excessive blood loss (≥4000 mL) were associated with increased costs, whereas having an anesthesiologist with vascular subspecialty training was associated with lower costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient-, procedure-, and clinician-specific variables are associated with costs in patients admitted to the ICU after repair of AAA. These factors may be considered future targets in initiatives to improve cost-effectiveness in this population.

Learning Curve Analysis to Determine Operative Requirements for Young Vascular Surgeons Learning Open Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

BACKGROUND

Since endovascular aneurysm repair has become predominant, the issue of training young vascular surgeons in open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery has received significant attention. Through learning curve analysis, we aimed to determine the number of cases needed for young surgeons to achieve satisfactory open surgical skills.Methods and Results:A total of 562 consecutive patients who underwent open repair either by an attending surgeon (group A) or 6 young vascular surgeons (group Y) were included and assessed with regards to the preparation, clamp, and total operation times. Although some of the patients' characteristics were different, the surgical procedures were comparable between the 2 groups. There was a clear trend towards a decrease in each 10 successive cases in group Y. The operation times in group A were constant at 72±30 (preparation), 48±10 (clamp), and 231±59 min (total), which were achieved by young vascular surgeons in 10, 30, and 10 cases, respectively. In the cumulative sum analysis, 25-27 cases were necessary for young vascular surgeons to enhance their surgical skills. The complication rate in group Y was no higher than that in group A.

CONCLUSIONS

Young vascular surgeons can safely learn open AAA repair without increasing operation time or complications. Approximately 30 cases would be necessary to gain satisfactory surgical skills.

Factors Affecting Longer Stay and Higher Costs during Elective Open Repair for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Open surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has the advantage of requiring less reintervention compared with endovascular aneurysm repair. The reduction of the initial hospitalization costs can provide socioeconomic benefits. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with an increase in the length of hospital stay and costs of open surgery for AAA.

METHODS

A total of 579 consecutive patients who underwent open surgery for intact AAA and survived, between 1998 and 2015 at Asahi General Hospital in Japan, were included in the analysis. Patients' characteristics, aneurysm morphology, operative procedures, postoperative complications, and postoperative courses were analyzed in relation to the hospital length of stay and costs. Patients with longer stays or higher costs (exceeding the third quartile) were compared with those with stays or costs no more than the third quartile.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was 75 ± 8 years, and 492 patients (85%) were male, with a mean aortic diameter of 57 ± 10 mm. The mean operation time was 214 ± 56 min with an estimated mean blood loss of 444 ± 305 g. Transfusion was required in 28 patients (4.8%) and return to the operating room (RTOR) in 18 patients (3.1%). The median postoperative hospital stay was 7 (7-8) days. Median costs of hospitalization were 12,300 (11,800-13,100) United States Dollar. In the multivariate analysis, the major factors which increased the length of stay were transfusion, late ambulation, and prolonged fasting time. Major risk factors for higher total hospitalization costs were transfusion, RTOR, and longer fasting time.

CONCLUSIONS

Regardless of the patients' comorbidities or aneurysm morphology, avoidance of transfusion and RTOR, combined with early ambulation and enteral feeding in the postoperative care, can reduce the length of stay and total hospitalization costs associated with open surgery for AAA.

Factors associated with early extubation of patients after corrective tetralogy of Fallot

OBJECTIVE

To assess surgical management and postoperative results associated with early extubation in patients undergoing tetralogy of Fallot corrective surgery at a public hospital in Argentina.

METHODS

A retrospective review was made from clinical records from patients who underwent corrective surgery for tetralogy of Fallot. A total of 38 clinical records that met the inclusion criteria for the retrospective review were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

16% were extubated early. Milrinone was the only drug that showed differences in patients who were extubated early (p=0.01). Extracorporeal circulation time, aortic clamping time, transfusion with cryoprecipitates, saturation of oxygen pressure, and haematocrit at the end of the surgical procedure showed no differences (p>.05). In the postoperative period, the ICU stay was shorter for the patients who were extubated early (p=0.0007), but there were no differences in the total hospital stay (p=0.26).

CONCLUSIONS

Early extubation in the institution, although found to be low frequency, has proved as a safe and effective alternative to shorten these patients' stay in ICU.

Open and endovascular aneurysm repair in the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative

The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative is a patient safety organization and a collection of procedure-based registries that can be utilized for quality improvement initiatives and clinical outcomes research. The Vascular Quality Initiative consists of voluntary participation by centers to collect data prospectively on all consecutive cases within specific registries which physicians and centers elect to participate. The data capture extends from preoperative demographics and risk factors (including indications for operation), through the perioperative period, to outcomes data at up to 1-year of follow-up. Additionally, longer-term follow-up can be achieved by matching with Medicare claims data, providing long-term longitudinal follow-up for a majority of patients within the Vascular Quality Initiative registries. We present the unique characteristics of the Vascular Quality Initiative registries and highlight important insights gained specific to open and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.