Stress in Women with Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Closer Look

Relationship between Static Lung Compliance and Extubation Failure in Postoperative Cardiac Surgery Patients

BACKGROUND

Static lung compliance, which is seriously affected during surgery, can lead to respiratory failure and extubation failure, which is little explored in the decision to extubate after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate static lung compliance in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery and relate its possible reduction to cases of extubation failure in patients submitted to the fast-track method of extubation.

METHODS

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) at a state university hospital admitted to the ICU under sedation and residual block were included. Their static lung compliance was assessed on the mechanical ventilator using software that uses least squares fitting (LSF) for measurement. Within 48 hours of extubation, the patients were observed for the need for reintubation due to respiratory failure. The level of significance adopted for the statistical tests was 5%, i.e., p<0.05.

RESULTS

77 patients (75.49%) achieved successful extubation and 25 (24.51%) failed extubation. Patients who failed extubation had lower static lung compliance compared to those who succeeded (p<0.001). We identified the cut-off point for compliance through analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC), with the cut-off point being compliance <41ml/cmH2O associated with a higher probability of extubation failure (p<0.001). In the multiple regression analysis, the influence of lung compliance (divided by the ROC curve cut-off point) was found to be 9.1 times greater for patients with compliance <41ml/cmH2O (p< 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Static lung compliance <41ml/cmH2O is a factor that compromises the success of extubation in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery.

Clinical characteristics, prognostic factors, and outcomes of ventricular septal rupture in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a rare but devastating complication in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This was a retrospective single-center observational study which aimed to assess the characteristics and outcomes of VSR patients and identify risk factors for in-hospital mortality of VSR patients in the era of percutaneous intervention. Patients with VSR after AMI at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2016 to December 2020 were enrolled. Among 5395 consecutive patients with AMI, 42 patients (0.78%) were diagnosed with VSR. Left anterior descending coronary artery was the culprit vessel in most cases (84.4%, 27/32). In the multivariate analysis, female sex (odds ratio (OR): 14.043, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.396-141.283, p = 0.025) and lower platelet count on admission (OR: 0.979; 95% CI: 0.963-0.995; p = 0.009) were significant risk factors of in-hospital death in VSR patients. In all, 11 patients (26.2%) underwent surgical repair, and the rest were treated medically. The 1-year mortality was lower in the surgical group (36.4%, 4/11) than that in the conservative group (74.2%, 23/31) (p = 0.034). During the follow-up, VSR patients treated surgically tended to have a higher long-term survival rate than those treated medically (log rank χ² = 5.005, p = 0.025). The prognosis of patients with VSR remained poor in this study. Female sex and lower platelet count were independent risk factors of in-hospital death in VSR patients. The long-term survival rate of patients treated with surgical repair was significantly better than that of patients treated conservatively.

Prevalence of Angina Pectoris and Associated Factors in the Adult Population of Brazil: National Survey of Health, 2019

OBJECTIVE

to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with angina pectoris in the Brazilian adult population and per federated units.

METHODS

Cross-sectional descriptive study that analyzed data from the National Survey of Health 2019 and assessed the prevalence of angina in the Brazilian population. Angina was defined as chest pain or discomfort when climbing hills or stairs, or when walking fast on flat terrain (angina I) or when walking at normal speed on flat terrain (angina II). Prevalence, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated, with a 95% confidence interval, according to sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age group, self-reported race/skin color and region of residence) and federative units.

RESULTS

The prevalence of mild angina (grade I) was 8.1% and of moderate/severe angina (grade II) was 4.5%, being both more prevalent in women (9.8 and 5.5%, respectively). The prevalence increased progressively with age and was inversely proportional to years of formal study. Grade I angina was higher in individuals self-reportedly black and residents of Sergipe (10,4%). Angina II was more prevalent in people self-reportedly brown and living in Amazonas (6.3%).

CONCLUSION

Angina affects more than 10% of the Brazilian population aged 18 years old and more, with higher prevalence in states in the North and Northeast. This is a problem that affects the most vulnerable populations unequally, which places coronary heart disease as a public health problem and points to the need to think about public policies aimed at these strata of the population.