Intraoperative platelet transfusion is associated with increased postoperative sternal wound infections among type A aortic dissection patients after total arch replacement

The impact of comprehensive blood conservation program on major complications after total aortic arch replacement

INTRODUCTION

Patients undergoing total aortic arch replacement (TAAR) usually require blood products perioperatively. This cohort study aimed to investigate the impact of a comprehensive blood conservation program on the major complications in these patients.

METHODS

Patients with traditional or comprehensive blood management intraoperatively from January 2017 to December 2018 were included. We compared the rates of major complications (cerebral vascular accident, acute kidney injury, or mortality) between the two groups after propensity score matching (PSM). The association between blood management and outcomes was assessed by logistic regression. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were built to evaluate the impact of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) on complications. Patients were stratified by the ratio of FFP/RBC (red blood cell) to investigate the effect of the ratio on complications.

RESULTS

After 1:1 PSM, 200 patients were selected. 35% (35/100) of patients suffered major complications in the traditional group, while it decreased to 22% (22/100) in the comprehensive management group (OR = 0.524, p = 0.043). Multivariable logistic regression showed that FFP was a risk factor (OR = 1.186, p = 0.014). RCS results indicated that with the increase of FFP, the risk of complications gradually increases. The cut-off value was 402 mL. Patients in the group of ratio = 0 ∼ 0.5 had a higher chance than those without transfusion (OR = 7.487, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Comprehensive blood conservation program in patients undergoing TAAR is safe and can reduce the incidence of major complications, which are associated with FFP volume and the ratio of FFP/RBC.

The frozen elephant trunk technique in an emergency: THORAFLEX French National Registry offers new insights

OBJECTIVES

Our goal was to study the immediate outcome after an emergency frozen elephant trunk procedure with a Thoraflex™ Hybrid prosthesis (THP) in patients included in the EPI-Flex national registry and operated on in 21 French centres.

METHODS

All patients operated on in France between April 2016 and April 2019 for acute aortic syndromes and who had an frozen elephant trunk procedure with a THP were included in the study. The main end point was in-hospital mortality. The secondary end point was neuromorbidity, including paraplegia. The evolution of the main end point was monitored using a variable life-adjusted display graph with cumulative sum derivatives in order to stop inclusions in case the observed mortality became out of range compared to an expected mortality between 15% and 20%.

RESULTS

Enrolment ended on the scheduled date and included 109 patients. Most cases (54%) were performed at 3 centres, where more than 10 THP each were implanted (10-26). The observed mortality in the large-volume centres (22%) was comparable to that observed in the low-volume centres (20%). The individually risk-adjusted cumulative sum revealed that observed in-hospital mortality was statistically in line with that predicted by the log EuroSCORE. Analysis of the secondary end point revealed 8% cases of paraplegia, all of which appeared after treatment of the thoracic type A aortic dissection.

CONCLUSIONS

In France, THP for emergency frozen elephant trunk surgery outside high-volume centres did not result in excessive in-hospital deaths. However, a word of caution must be expressed regarding the prevention of medullar ischaemia even in emergency aortic surgery.

Transfusion of Red Blood Cells, Fresh Frozen Plasma, or Platelets Is Associated With Mortality and Infection After Cardiac Surgery in a Dose-Dependent Manner

BACKGROUND

It is unclear whether transfusion of platelets or fresh frozen plasma, in addition to red blood cells, is associated with an increased risk of mortality and infection after cardiac surgery.

METHODS

Patients who underwent valve surgery and/or coronary artery bypass grafting from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2017 and September 1, 2013 to June 30, 2017 at 2 centers performing cardiac surgery were included in this retrospective study. After stratifying patients based on propensity score matching, we compared rates of mortality and infection between patients who transfused red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, or platelets with those who did not receive such transfusions. We also compared outcomes between patients who received any of the 3 blood products and patients who received no transfusions at all. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations between transfusion and outcomes.

RESULTS

Of 8238 patients in this study, 109 (1.3%) died, 812 (9.9%) experienced infection, and 4937 (59.9%) received at least 1 type of blood product. Transfusion of any blood type was associated with higher rates of mortality (2.0% vs 0.18%; P < .01) and infection (13.3% vs 4.8%; P < .01). Each of the 3 blood products was independently associated with an increase in mortality per unit transfused (red blood cells, odds ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.22; fresh frozen plasma, odds ratio 1.24, 95% CI, 1.18-1.30; platelets, odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI, 1.07-1.18). Transfusing 3 units of any of the 3 blood products was associated with a dose-dependent increase in the incidence of mortality (odds ratio 1.88, 95% CI, 1.70-2.08) and infection (odds ratio 1.50, 95% CI, 1.43-1.57).

CONCLUSIONS

Transfusion of red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, or platelets is an independent risk factor of mortality and infection, and combination of the 3 blood products is associated with adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery in a dose-dependent manner.

Resuscitation of Endotheliopathy and Bleeding in Thoracic Aortic Dissections: The VIPER-OCTA Randomized Clinical Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND:

Thoracic aorta dissection is an acute critical condition associated with shock-induced endotheliopathy, coagulopathy, massive bleeding, and significant morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to compare the effect of coagulation support with solvent/detergent-treated pooled plasma (OctaplasLG) versus standard fresh frozen plasma (FFP) on glycocalyx and endothelial injury, bleeding, and transfusion requirements.

METHODS:

Investigator-initiated, single-center, blinded, randomized clinical pilot trial of adult patients undergoing emergency surgery for thoracic aorta dissection. Patients were randomized to receive OctaplasLG or standard FFP as coagulation factor replacement related to bleeding. The primary outcome was glycocalyx and endothelial injury. Other outcomes included bleeding, transfusions and prohemostatics at 24 hours, organ failure, length of stay in the intensive care unit and in the hospital, safety, and mortality at 30 and 90 days.

RESULTS:

Fifty-seven patients were included to obtain 44 evaluable on the primary outcome. The OctaplasLG group displayed significantly reduced damage to the endothelial glycocalyx (syndecan-1) and reduced endothelial tight junction injury (sVE-cadherin) compared to standard FFP. In the OctaplasLG group compared to the standard FFP, days on ventilator (1 day [interquartile range, 0–1] vs 2 days [1–3]; P = .013), bleeding during surgery (2150 [1600–3087] vs 2750 [2130–6875]; P = .046), 24-hour total transfusion and platelet transfusion volume (3975 mL [2640–6828 mL] vs 6220 mL [4210–10,245 mL]; P = .040, and 1400 mL [1050–2625 mL] vs 2450 mL [1400–3500 mL]; P = .027), and goal-directed use of prohemostatics (7/23 [30.4%] vs 13/21 [61.9%]; P = .036) were all significantly lower. Among the 57 patients randomized, 30-day mortality was 20.7% (6/29) in the OctaplasLG group and 25% (7/28) in the standard FFP group (P = .760). No safety concern was raised.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this randomized, clinical pilot trial of patients undergoing emergency surgery for thoracic aorta dissections, we found that OctaplasLG reduced glycocalyx and endothelial injury, reduced bleeding, transfusions, use of prohemostatics, and time on ventilator after surgery compared to standard FFP. An adequately powered multicenter trial is warranted to confirm the clinical importance of the findings.

The acute respiratory distress syndrome following isolated severe traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is associated with worse neurologic outcomes and longer hospitalization. However, the incidence and associated causes of ARDS in isolated TBI have not been well studied.

METHODS

We performed a subgroup analysis of 210 consecutive patients with isolated severe TBI enrolled in a prospective observational cohort at a Level 1 trauma center between 2005 and 2014. Subjects required endotracheal intubation and had isolated severe TBI defined by a head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 3 or greater and AIS score lower than 3 in all other categories. ARDS within the first 8 days of admission was rigorously adjudicated using Berlin criteria. Regression analyses were used to test the association between predictors of interest and ARDS.

RESULTS

The incidence of ARDS in the first 8 days after severe isolated TBI was 30%. Patients who developed ARDS were administered more crystalloids (4.3 L vs. 3.5 L, p = 0.005) and blood products in the first 12 hours of admission. Patients with ARDS had significantly worse clinical outcomes measured at 28 days, including longer median intensive care unit and hospital stays (4 days vs. 13 days, p < 0.001, and 7.5 days vs. 14.5 days, p < 0.001, respectively). In unadjusted logistic regression analyses, the odds of developing ARDS were significantly associated with head AIS score (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; p = 0.018), male sex (OR, 2.9; p = 0.012), and early transfusion of platelets (OR, 2.8; p = 0.003). These associations were similar in a multivariate logistic regression model.

CONCLUSION

In the era of balanced hemostatic resuscitation practices, severity of head injury, male sex, early crystalloids, and early transfusion of platelets are associated with a higher risk of ARDS after severe isolated TBI. Early transfusion of platelets after severe TBI may be a modifiable risk factor for ARDS, and these findings invite further investigation into causal mechanisms driving this observed association.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III.

A Meta-Analysis of Total Arch Replacement With Frozen Elephant Trunk in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection

Objectives:

To assess the safety and efficacy, we performed a meta-analysis of total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk in exclusive acute type A (neither chronic nor type B) aortic dissection.

Methods:

Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through March 2015 using Web-based search engines (PubMed and OVID). Eligible studies were case series of frozen elephant trunk enrolling patients with acute type A (neither chronic nor type B) aortic dissection reporting at least early (in-hospital or 30-day) all-cause mortality. Study-specific estimates were combined in both fixed- and random-effect models.

Results:

Fifteen studies enrolling 1279 patients were identified and included. Pooled analyses demonstrated the cardiopulmonary bypass time of 207.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 186.1-228.1) minutes, aortic cross-clamp time of 123.3 (95% CI, 113.1-133.5) minutes, selective antegrade cerebral perfusion time of 49.3 (95% CI, 37.6-61.0) minutes, hypothermic circulatory arrest time of 39.0 (95% CI, 30.7-47.2) minutes, early mortality of 9.2% (95% CI, 7.7-11.0%), stroke of 4.8% (95% CI, 2.5-9.0%), spinal cord injury of 3.5% (95% CI, 1.9-6.6%), mid- to long-term (≥1-year) overall mortality of 13.0% (95% CI, 10.4-16.0%), reintervention of 9.6% (95% CI, 5.6-15.8%), and false lumen thrombosis of 96.8% (95% CI, 90.7-98.9%).

Conclusions:

Total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk provides a safe alternative to that with conventional elephant trunk in patients with acute type A aortic dissection, with acceptable early mortality and morbidity. The rates of mid- to long-term reintervention and false lumen non-thrombosis may be lower in patients undergoing the frozen than conventional elephant trunk procedure.