Mortality following noncardiac surgery assessed by the Saint Louis University Score (SLUScore) for hypotension: a retrospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND

The Saint Louis University Score (SLUScore) was developed to quantify intraoperative blood pressure trajectories and their associated risk for adverse outcomes. This study examines the prevalence and severity of intraoperative hypotension described by the SLUScore and its relationship with 30-day mortality in surgical subtypes.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis of perioperative data included surgical cases performed between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2020. The SLUScore is calculated from cumulative time-periods for which the mean arterial pressure is below a range of hypotensive thresholds. After calculating the SLUScore for each surgical procedure, we quantified the prevalence and severity of intraoperative hypotension for each surgical procedure and the association between intraoperative hypotension and 30-day mortality. We used binary logistic regression to quantify the potential contribution of intraoperative hypotension to mortality.

RESULTS

We analysed 490 982 cases (57.7% female; mean age 57 yr); 33.2% of cases had a SLUScore>0, a median SLUScore of 13 (inter-quartile range [IQR] 7-21), with 1.19% average mortality. The SLUScore was associated with mortality in 12/14 surgical groups. The increases in the odds ratio for death within 30 days of surgery per SLUScore increment were: all surgery types 3.5% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 3.2-3.9); abdominal/transplant surgery 6% (95% CI 1.5-10.7); thoracic surgery1.5% (95% CI 1-3.3); vascular surgery 3.01% (95% CI 1.9-4.05); spine/neurosurgery 1.1% (95% CI 0.1-2.1); orthopaedic surgery 1.4% (95% CI 0.7-2.2); gynaecological surgery 6.3% (95% CI 2.5-10.1); genitourinary surgery 4.84% (95% CI 3.5-6.15); gastrointestinal surgery 5.2% (95% CI 3.9-6.4); gastroendoscopy 5.5% (95% CI 4.4-6.7); general surgery 6.3% (95% CI 5.5-7.1); ear, nose, and throat surgery 1.6% (95% CI 0-3.27); and cardiac electrophysiology (including pacemaker procedures) 6.6% (95% CI 1.1-12.4).

CONCLUSIONS

The SLUScore was independently, but variably, associated with 30-day mortality after noncardiac surgery.

Ventilatory efficiency as a prognostic factor for postoperative complications in patients undergoing elective major surgery: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Major surgery is associated with high complication rates. Several risk scores exist to assess individual patient risk before surgery but have limited precision. Novel prognostic factors can be included as additional building blocks in existing prediction models. A candidate prognostic factor, measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing, is ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2). The aim of this systematic review was to summarise evidence regarding VE/VCO2 as a prognostic factor for postoperative complications in patients undergoing major surgery.

METHODS

A medical library specialist developed the search strategy. No database-provided limits, considering study types, languages, publication years, or any other formal criteria were applied to any of the sources. Two reviewers assessed eligibility of each record and rated risk of bias in included studies.

RESULTS

From 10,082 screened records, 65 studies were identified as eligible. We extracted adjusted associations from 32 studies and unadjusted from 33 studies. Risk of bias was a concern in the domains 'study confounding' and 'statistical analysis'. VE/VCO2 was reported as a prognostic factor for short-term complications after thoracic and abdominal surgery. VE/VCO2 was also reported as a prognostic factor for mid- to long-term mortality. Data-driven covariable selection was applied in 31 studies. Eighteen studies excluded VE/VCO2 from the final multivariable regression owing to data-driven model-building approaches.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review identifies VE/VCO2 as a predictor for short-term complications after thoracic and abdominal surgery. However, the available data do not allow conclusions about clinical decision-making. Future studies should select covariables for adjustment a priori based on external knowledge.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL

PROSPERO (CRD42022369944).

Pulmonary Hypertension and the Risk of 30-Day Postoperative Pulmonary Complications after Gastrointestinal Surgical or Endoscopic Procedures: A Retrospective Propensity Score-Weighted Cohort Analysis

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients are at higher risk of postoperative complications. We analyzed the association of PH with 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). Methods: A single-center propensity score overlap weighting (OW) retrospective cohort study was conducted on 164 patients with a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) of >20 mmHg within 24 months of undergoing elective inpatient abdominal surgery or endoscopic procedures under general anesthesia and a control cohort (N = 1981). The primary outcome was PPCs, and the secondary outcomes were PPC sub-composites, namely respiratory failure (RF), pneumonia (PNA), aspiration pneumonia/pneumonitis (ASP), pulmonary embolism (PE), length of stay (LOS), and 30-day mortality. Results: PPCs were higher in the PH cohort (29.9% vs. 11.2%, p < 0.001). When sub-composites were analyzed, higher rates of RF (19.3% vs. 6.6%, p < 0.001) and PNA (11.2% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.01) were observed. After OW, PH was still associated with greater PPCs (RR 1.66, 95% CI (1.05-2.71), p = 0.036) and increased LOS (median 8.0 days vs. 4.9 days) but not 30-day mortality. Sub-cohort analysis showed no difference in PPCs between pre- and post-capillary PH patients. Conclusions: After covariate balancing, PH was associated with a higher risk for PPCs and prolonged LOS. This elevated PPC risk should be considered during preoperative risk assessment.

Improving risk models for patients having emergency bowel cancer surgery using linked electronic health records: a national cohort study

BACKGROUND

Life-saving emergency major resection of colorectal cancer (CRC) is a high-risk procedure. Accurate prediction of postoperative mortality for patients undergoing this procedure is essential for both healthcare performance monitoring and preoperative risk assessment. Risk-adjustment models for CRC patients often include patient and tumour characteristics, widely available in cancer registries and audits. The authors investigated to what extent inclusion of additional physiological and surgical measures, available through linkage or additional data collection, improves accuracy of risk models.

METHODS

Linked, routinely-collected data on patients undergoing emergency CRC surgery in England between December 2016 and November 2019 were used to develop a risk model for 90-day mortality. Backwards selection identified a 'selected model' of physiological and surgical measures in addition to patient and tumour characteristics. Model performance was assessed compared to a 'basic model' including only patient and tumour characteristics. Missing data was multiply imputed.

RESULTS

Eight hundred forty-six of 10 578 (8.0%) patients died within 90 days of surgery. The selected model included seven preoperative physiological and surgical measures (pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, breathlessness, sodium, urea, albumin, and predicted peritoneal soiling), in addition to the 10 patient and tumour characteristics in the basic model (calendar year of surgery, age, sex, ASA grade, TNM T stage, TNM N stage, TNM M stage, cancer site, number of comorbidities, and emergency admission). The selected model had considerably better discrimination compared to the basic model (C-statistic: 0.824 versus 0.783, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Linkage of disease-specific and treatment-specific datasets allowed the inclusion of physiological and surgical measures in a risk model alongside patient and tumour characteristics, which improves the accuracy of the prediction of the mortality risk for CRC patients having emergency surgery. This improvement will allow more accurate performance monitoring of healthcare providers and enhance clinical care planning.

Association between postinduction hypotension and postoperative mortality: a single-centre retrospective cohort study

PURPOSE

We aimed to elucidate whether postinduction hypotension (PIH), defined as hypotension between anesthesia induction and skin incision, and intraoperative hypotension (IOH) are associated with postoperative mortality.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with an ASA Physical Status I-IV who underwent noncardiac and nonobstetric surgery under general anesthesia between 2015 and 2021 at Nagoya City University Hospital. The primary and secondary outcomes were 30-day and 90-day postoperative mortality, respectively. We calculated four hypotensive indices (with time proportion of the area under the threshold being the primary exposure variable) to evaluate the association between hypotension (defined as a mean blood pressure < 65 mm Hg) and mortality using multivariable logistic regression models. We used propensity score matching and RUSBoost (random under-sampling and boosting), a machine-learning model for imbalanced data, for sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

Postinduction hypotension and IOH were observed in 82% and 84% of patients, respectively. The 30-day and 90-day postoperative mortality rates were 0.4% (52/14,210) and 1.0% (138/13,334), respectively. Postinduction hypotension was not associated with 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93 to 1.13; P = 0.60) and 90-day mortality (aOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.07; P = 0.82). Conversely, IOH was associated with 30-day mortality (aOR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.27; P < 0.001) and 90-day mortality (aOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.19; P < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses supported the association of IOH but not PIH with postoperative mortality.

CONCLUSION

Despite limitations, including power and residual confounding, postoperative mortality was associated with IOH but not with PIH.

How Long After Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Can Patients Have Elective Safer Non-Cardiac Surgery?

Objective

To evaluate the complications and mortality after noncardiac surgeries in patients who underwent previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods

We used insurance data and identified patients aged ≥20 years undergoing noncardiac surgeries between 2010 and 2017 in Taiwan. Based on propensity-score matching, we selected an adequate number of patients with a previous history of CABG (within preoperative 24 months) and those who did not have a CABG history, and both groups had balanced baseline characteristics. The association of CABG with the risk of postoperative complications and mortality was estimated (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]) using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results

The matching procedure generated 2327 matched pairs for analyses. CABG significantly increased the risks of 30-day in-hospital mortality (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.36-3.84), postoperative pneumonia (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.12-1.98), sepsis (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.17-1.89), stroke (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.17-1.99) and admission to the intensive care unit (OR, 1.75, 95% CI 1.50-2.05). The findings were generally consistent across most of the evaluated subgroups. A noncardiac surgery performed within 1 month after CABG was associated with the highest risk for adverse events, which declined over time.

Conclusion

Prior history of CABG was associated with postoperative pneumonia, sepsis, stroke, and mortality in patients undergoing noncardiac surgeries. Although we raised the possibility regarding deferral of non-critical elective noncardiac surgeries among patients had recent CABG when considering the risks, critical or emergency surgeries were not in the consideration of delay surgery, especially cancer surgery.

Body mass index and the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm presence and post-operative mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The clinical data regarding the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are inconsistent, especially for the obese and overweight patients. The aims of this study were to determine whether obesity is associated with the presence of AAA and to investigate the quantitative relationship between BMI and the risk of AAA presence and post-operative mortality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases were used to search for pertinent studies updated to December 2023. The pooled relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated by conventional meta-analysis based on random effects model. Dose-response meta-analyses using robust-error meta-regression (REMR) model were conducted to quantify the associations between BMI and AAA outcome variables. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and publication bias analysis were performed according to the characteristics of participants.

RESULTS

18 studies were included in our study. The meta-analysis showed a higher prevalence of AAA with a RR of 1.07 in patients with obesity. The dose-response meta-analysis revealed a non-linear relationship between BMI and the risk of AAA presence. A "U" shape curve reflecting the correlation between BMI and the risk of post-operative mortality in AAA patients was also uncovered, suggesting the "safest" BMI interval [28.55, 31.05] with the minimal RR.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity is positively but nonlinearly correlated with the increased risk of AAA presence. BMI is related to AAA post-operative mortality in a "U" shaped curve, with the lowest RR observed among patients suffering from overweight and obesity. These findings offer a preventive strategy for AAA morbidity and provide guidance for improving the prognosis in patients undergone AAA surgical repair.

Nerve block reduces the incidence of 3-year postoperative mortality: a retrospective cohort study

Purpose

A retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the effect of nerve block on the incidence of postoperative mortality in patients with hip replacement.

Methods

According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients who were undergoing hip replacement for the first time under general or intraspinal anesthesia, classified as ASA class I-IV, and aged ≥65 years were selected. We collected the general data, past medical history, preoperative laboratory test results, perioperative fluid intake and outflow data, perioperative anesthesia and related drug data, postoperative laboratory results, and correlation time index. Patients with preoperative combined nerve block were included in the N group, and those without combined nerve block were included in the NN group. The patients were followed up via telephone call to assess survival outcomes at 3 years after surgery. Propensity score matching and uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the influence of nerve block and other related factors on postoperative mortality.

Results

A total of 743 patients were included in this study, including 262 in the N group and 481 in the NN group. Two hundred five patients in both groups remained after propensity score matching. Main result: Preoperative nerve block was associated with reduced mortality three years after surgery.

Conclusion

Nerve block reduces the incidence of 3-year postoperative mortality, and composite nerve block with general anesthesia and neuraxial anesthesia is worthy of promotion.

Improvement of Russian clinical guidelines and reduction of mortality in perforated ulcers

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the results of laparoscopic surgery in patients with perforated ulcers using evidence-based medicine approaches.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We compared the efficacy and effectiveness of laparoscopic and open surgeries in patients with perforated ulcers. Meta-analysis of mortality after laparoscopic surgeries (randomized controlled trials) and trial sequential analysis were carried out.

RESULTS

We clarified the differences between the efficacy and effectiveness of laparoscopic surgeries regarding postoperative mortality. In the Russian Federation, mortality after laparoscopic surgery is 9-11 times lower compared to open procedures. According to evidence-based researches (efficacy of laparoscopic interventions in 10 meta-analyses), these differences are less obvious (1.4-3.0 times) and not significant. The diversity-adjusted required information size to draw reasonable conclusions about differences in mortality in trial sequential analysis was 68 181 participants. Meta-analyses of RCTs also demonstrate lower incidence of wound complications (1.8-5.0% after laparoscopic surgery and 6.3-13.3% after laparotomy), shorter hospital-stay (mean difference from -0.13 to -2.84) and less severe pain syndrome (mean difference in VAS score from -2.08 to -2.45) after laparoscopic technologies.

CONCLUSION

The obvious advantage of laparoscopic surgery in patients with perforated ulcers is fast-truck recovery following shorter hospital-stay, mild pain and rarer wound complications. Comparison of postoperative mortality regarding efficacy and effectiveness is difficult due to insufficient introduction of laparoscopic technologies in clinical practice and diversity-adjusted required information size.

Surgical complications requiring late surgical revisions after pancreatoduodenectomy increase postoperative morbidity and mortality

BACKGROUND

Pancreatoduodenectomies are complex surgical procedures with considerable postoperative morbidity and mortality. Here, we describe complications and outcomes in patients requiring surgical revisions following pancreatoduodenectomy.

METHODS

A total of 1048 patients undergoing a pancreatoduodenectomy at our institution between 2002 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients with surgical revisions were included. Revisions were divided into early and late using a cut-off of 5 days after the first surgery. Statistical significance was examined by using chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests.

RESULTS

A total of 150 patients with at least 1 surgical revision after pancreatoduodenectomy were included. Notably, 64 patients had a revision during the first 5 days and were classified as early revision. Compared with the 86 patients with late revisions, we found no differences concerning wound infections, delayed gastric emptying, or acute kidney failure. After late revisions, we found significantly more cases of sepsis (31.4% late versus 15.6% early, p = 0.020) and reintubation due to respiratory failure (33.7% versus 18.8%, p = 0.031). Postoperative mortality was significantly higher within the late revision group (23.2% versus 9.4%, p = 0.030).

CONCLUSION

Arising complications after pancreatoduodenectomy should be addressed as early as possible as patients requiring late surgical revisions frequently developed septic complications and multiorgan failure.

Perioperative mortality among geriatric patients in Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study

Background

With the dramatic growth in the aged population observed in developed and developing nations, the older population burdened by unmet demand for surgical treatment has become a significant yet unnoticed public health concern in resource-limited countries. Studies are limited regarding surgical mortality of geriatric patients in Africa. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the incidence and identify predictors of postoperative mortality using prospective data in a low-income country, Ethiopia.

Methods and materials

A prospective cohort study was conducted from June 01, 2019, to June 30, 2021, at a tertiary-level hospital in Ethiopia. Perioperative data were collected using an electronic data collection tool. Cox regression analysis was used to identify predictor variables. The association between predictors and postoperative mortality among geriatrics was computed using a hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI); p-value <0.05 was a cutoff value to declare statistical significance.

Results

Of eligible 618 patients, 601 were included in the final analysis. The overall incidence of postoperative mortality among geriatrics was 5.16%, with a rate of 1.91 (95% CI: 1.34, 2.72) deaths per 1,000 person-day observation. Age ≥ 80 years (Adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.05, 6.36), ASA physical status III/IV (AHR = 2.40, 95%CI 1.06, 5.43), comorbidity (AHR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.19, 7.01), and emergency surgery (AHR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.17, 7.27) were the significant predictors of postoperative mortality among older patients.

Conclusion

Postoperative mortality among geriatrics was high. Identified predictors were age ≥ 80 years, ASA status III/IV, comorbidity, and emergency surgery. Target-specific interventions should be addressed to improve high surgical mortality in these patients.

Development and validation of a prognostic model for death 30 days after adult emergency laparotomy

The probability of death after emergency laparotomy varies greatly between patients. Accurate pre-operative risk prediction is fundamental to planning care and improving outcomes. We aimed to develop a model limited to a few pre-operative factors that performed well irrespective of surgical indication: obstruction; sepsis; ischaemia; bleeding; and other. We derived a model with data from the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit for patients who had emergency laparotomy between December 2016 and November 2018. We tested the model on patients who underwent emergency laparotomy between December 2018 and November 2019. There were 4077/40,816 (10%) deaths 30 days after surgery in the derivation cohort. The final model had 13 pre-operative variables: surgical indication; age; blood pressure; heart rate; respiratory history; urgency; biochemical markers; anticipated malignancy; anticipated peritoneal soiling; and ASA physical status. The predicted mortality probability deciles ranged from 0.1% to 47%. There were 1888/11,187 deaths in the test cohort. The scaled Brier score, integrated calibration index and concordance for the model were 20%, 0.006 and 0.86, respectively. Model metrics were similar for the five surgical indications. In conclusion, we think that this prognostic model is suitable to support decision-making before emergency laparotomy as well as for risk adjustment for comparing organisations.

Robotic Rectal Resection for Rectal Cancer in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Rectal cancer is estimated to increase due to an expanding aging population, thus affecting elderly patients more frequently. The optimal surgical treatment for this type of patient remains controversial because they are often excluded from or underrepresented in trials. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the feasibility and the safety of robotic surgery in elderly patients (>70 years old) undergoing curative treatment for rectal cancer. Studies comparing elderly (E) and young (Y) patients submitted to robotic rectal resection were searched on PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Data regarding surgical oncologic quality, post-operative, and survival outcomes were extracted. Overall, 322 patients underwent robotic resection (81 in the E group and 241 in the Y group) for rectal cancer. No differences between the two groups were found regarding distal margins and the number of nodes yielded (12.70 in the E group vs. 14.02 in the Y group, p = 0.16). No differences were found in conversion rate, postoperative morbidity, mortality, and length of stay. Survival outcomes were only reported in one study. The results of this study suggest that elderly patients can be submitted to robotic resection for rectal cancer with the same oncologic surgical quality offered to young patients, without increasing postoperative mortality and morbidity.

Association between hospital surgical case volume and postoperative mortality in patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Postoperative mortality is an important indicator for evaluating surgical safety. Postoperative mortality is influenced by hospital volume; however, this association is not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the volume-outcome association between the hospital surgical case volume for gastrectomies per year (hospital volume) and the risk of postoperative mortality in patients undergoing a gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

METHODS

Studies assessing the association between hospital volume and the postoperative mortality in patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer were searched for eligibility. Odds ratios were pooled for the highest versus lowest categories of hospital volume using a random-effects model. The volume-outcome association between hospital volume and the risk of postoperative mortality was analyzed. The study protocol was registered with Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO).

RESULTS

Thirty studies including 586 993 participants were included. The risk of postgastrectomy mortality in patients with gastric cancer was 35% lower in hospitals with higher surgical case volumes than in their lower-volume counterparts (odds ratio: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.56-0.76; P <0.001). This relationship was consistent and robust in most subgroup analyses. Volume-outcome analysis found that the postgastrectomy mortality rate remained stable or was reduced after the hospital volume reached a plateau of 100 gastrectomy cases per year.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings suggest that a higher-volume hospital can reduce the risk of postgastrectomy mortality in patients with gastric cancer, and that greater than or equal to 100 gastrectomies for gastric cancer per year may be defined as a high hospital surgical case volume.

Ninety-day mortality following transoral robotic surgery or radiation at Commission on Cancer-accredited facilities

BACKGROUND

Postoperative mortality for oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) with transoral robotic surgery (TORS) varies from 0.2% to 6.5% on trials; the real-world rate is unknown.

METHODS

NCDB study from 2010 to 2017 for patients with cT1-2N0-2M0 OPSCC with Charleson-Deyo score 0-1. Ninety-day mortality assessed from start and end of treatment at Commission on Cancer-accredited facilities.

RESULTS

3639 patients were treated with TORS and 1937 with radiotherapy. TORS cohort had more women and higher income, was younger, more often treated at academic centers, and more likely to have private insurance (all p < 0.05). Ninety-day mortality was 1.3% with TORS and 0.7% or 1.4% from start or end of radiotherapy, respectively. From end of therapy, there was no significant difference on MVA between treatment modality.

CONCLUSIONS

There is minimal difference between 90-day mortality in patients treated with TORS or radiotherapy for early-stage OPSCC. While overall rates are low, for patients with expectation of cure, work is needed to identify optimal treatment.

Routine Postsurgical Anesthesia Visit to Improve 30-day Morbidity and Mortality: A Multicenter, Stepped-wedge Cluster Randomized Interventional Study (The TRACE Study)

OBJECTIVE

To study the impact of a standardized postoperative anesthesia visit on 30-day mortality in medium to high-risk elective surgical patients.

BACKGROUND

Postoperative complications are the leading cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Although modified early warning scores (MEWS) were instituted to monitor vital functions and improve postoperative outcome, we hypothesized that complementary anesthesia expertise is needed to adequately identify early deterioration.

METHODS

In a prospective, multicenter, stepped-wedge cluster randomized interventional study in 9 academic and nonacademic hospitals in the Netherlands, we studied the impact of adding standardized postoperative anesthesia visits on day 1 and 3 to routine use of MEWS in 5473 patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. Primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included: incidence of postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and intensive care unit admission.

RESULTS

Patients were enrolled between October 2016 and August 2018. Informed consent was obtained from 5473 patients of which 5190 were eligible for statistical analyses, 2490 in the control and 2700 in the intervention group. Thirty-day mortality was 0.56% (n = 14) in the control and 0.44% (n = 12) in the intervention group (odds ratio 0.74, 95% Confidence interval 0.34-1.62). Incidence of postoperative complications did not differ between groups except for renal complications which was higher in the control group (1.7% (n = 41) vs 1.0% (n = 27), P = 0.014). Median length of hospital stay did not differ significantly between groups. During the postanesthesia visits, for 16% (n = 437) and 11% (n = 293) of patients recommendations were given on day 1 and 3, respectively, of which 67% (n = 293) and 69% (n = 202) were followed up.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of MEWS and a postoperative anesthesia visit did not reduce 30-day mortality. Whether a postoperative anesthesia visit with strong adherence to the recommendations provided and in a high-risk population might have a stronger impact on postoperative mortality remains to be determined.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Netherlands Trial Registration, NTR5506/ NL5249, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/5249.

The Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emergency treatment of patients with colorectal cancer in a university surgery clinic. Data from patients undergoing emergency surgery during the pandemic period (2020-2021) was taken into consideration and the results were analyzed and compared with the periods 2016-2017 and 2018-2019. A significant decrease in the number of patients undergoing emergency surgery was reported (p = 0.028). The proportion of patients who presented more severe symptoms at the hospital was significantly higher (p = 0.007). There was an increase in the average duration of surgical interventions compared to pre-pandemic periods (p = 0.021). An increase in the percentage of stomas performed during the pandemic was reported. The average duration of postoperative hospitalization was shorter during the pandemic. A postoperative mortality of 25.7% was highlighted. Conclusions: The pandemic generated by COVID-19 had significant consequences on the emergency treatment of patients with colon cancer. A smaller number of patients showed up at the hospital, and with more severe symptoms. In order to reduce the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus, the postoperative hospitalization period was shortened and a higher number of protective stomas were performed.

Postoperative short-term mortality between insulin-treated and non-insulin-treated patients with diabetes after non-cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications. It has been reported that insulin-treated diabetes is associated with increased postoperative mortality compared to non-insulin-treated diabetes after cardiac surgery; however, it is unclear whether this finding is applicable to non-cardiac surgery.

Objective

We aimed to assess the effects of insulin-treated and non-insulin-treated diabetes on short-term mortality after non-cardiac surgery.

Methods

Our study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science databases were searched from inception to February 22, 2021. Cohort or case-control studies that provided information on postoperative short-term mortality in insulin-treated diabetic and non-insulin-treated diabetic patients were included. We pooled the data with a random-effects model. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system was used to rate the quality of evidence.

Results

Twenty-two cohort studies involving 208,214 participants were included. Our study suggested that insulin-treated diabetic patients was associated with a higher risk of 30-day mortality than non-insulin-treated diabetic patients [19 studies with 197,704 patients, risk ratio (RR) 1.305; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.127 to 1.511; p < 0.001]. The studies were rated as very low quality. The new pooled result only slightly changed after seven simulated missing studies were added using the trim-and-fill method (RR, 1.260; 95% CI, 1.076-1.476; p = 0.004). Our results also showed no significant difference between insulin-treated diabetes and non-insulin-treated diabetes regarding in-hospital mortality (two studies with 9,032 patients, RR, 0.970; 95% CI, 0.584-1.611; p = 0.905).

Conclusion

Very-low-quality evidence suggests that insulin-treated diabetes was associated with increased 30-day mortality after non-cardiac surgery. However, this finding is non-definitive because of the influence of confounding factors.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021246752, identifier: CRD42021246752.

Predicting mortality in patients with anastomotic leak after esophagectomy: development of a prediction model using data from the TENTACLE-Esophagus study

Anastomotic leak (AL) is a common but severe complication after esophagectomy, and over 10% of patients with AL suffer mortality. Different prognostic factors in patients with AL are known, but a tool to predict mortality after AL is lacking. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for postoperative mortality in patients with AL after esophagectomy. TENTACLE-Esophagus is an international retrospective cohort study, which included 1509 patients with AL after esophagectomy. The primary outcome was 90-day postoperative mortality. Previously identified prognostic factors for mortality were selected as predictors: patient-related (e.g. comorbidity, performance status) and leak-related predictors (e.g. leucocyte count, overall gastric conduit condition). The prediction model was developed using multivariable logistic regression and validated internally using bootstrapping. Among the 1509 patients with AL, 90-day mortality was 11.7%. Sixteen predictors were included in the prediction model. The model showed good performance after internal validation: the c-index was 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.75-0.83). Predictions for mortality by the internally validated model aligned well with observed 90-day mortality rates. The prediction model was incorporated in an online tool for individual use and can be found at: https://www.tentaclestudy.com/prediction-model. The developed prediction model combines patient-related and leak-related factors to accurately predict postoperative mortality in patients with AL after esophagectomy. The model is useful for clinicians during counselling of patients and their families and may aid identification of high-risk patients at diagnosis of AL. In the future, the tool may guide clinical decision-making; however, external validation of the tool is warranted.

The Surgical Apgar Score: A Systematic Review of Its Discriminatory Performance

To review the current literature evaluating the performance of the Surgical Apgar Score (SAS).

Background

The SAS is a simple metric calculated at the end of surgery that provides clinicians with information about a patient's postoperative risk of morbidity and mortality. The SAS differs from other prognostic models in that it is calculated from intraoperative rather than preoperative parameters. The SAS was originally derived and validated in a general and vascular surgery population. Since its inception, it has been evaluated in many other surgical disciplines, large heterogeneous surgical populations, and various countries.

Methods

A database and gray literature search was performed on March 3, 2020. Identified articles were reviewed for applicability and study quality with prespecified inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, and quality requirements. Thirty-six observational studies are included for review. Data were systematically extracted and tabulated independently and in duplicate by two investigators with differences resolved by consensus.

Results

All 36 included studies reported metrics of discrimination. When using the SAS to correctly identify postoperative morbidity, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve or concordance-statistic ranged from 0.59 in a general orthopedic surgery population to 0.872 in an orthopedic spine surgery population. When using the SAS to identify mortality, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve or concordance-statistic ranged from 0.63 in a combined surgical population to 0.92 in a general and vascular surgery population.

Conclusions

The SAS provides a moderate and consistent degree of discrimination for postoperative morbidity and mortality across multiple surgical disciplines.

Developing and validating a scoring system for measuring frailty in patients with hip fracture: a novel model for predicting short-term postoperative mortality

Objectives

Frailty is common among patients with hip fracture and may, in part, contribute to the increased risk of mortality and morbidity after hip fracture surgery. This study aimed to develop a novel frailty score for patients with traumatic hip fracture that could be used to predict postoperative mortality as well as facilitate further research into the role of frailty in patients with hip fracture.

Methods

The Orthopedic Hip Frailty Score (OFS) was developed using a national dataset, retrieved from the Swedish National Quality Registry for Hip Fractures, that contained all adult patients who underwent surgery for a traumatic hip fracture in Sweden between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2017. Candidate variables were selected from the Nottingham Hip Fracture Score, Sernbo Score, Charlson Comorbidity Index, 5-factor modified Frailty Index, as well as the Revised Cardiac Risk Index and ranked based on their permutation importance, with the top 5 variables being selected for the score. The OFS was then validated on a local dataset that only included patients from Orebro County, Sweden.

Results

The national dataset consisted of 126,065 patients. 2365 patients were present in the local dataset. The most important variables for predicting 30-day mortality were congestive heart failure, institutionalization, non-independent functional status, an age ≥85, and a history of malignancy. In the local dataset, the OFS achieved an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (95% CI) of 0.77 (0.74 to 0.80) and 0.76 (0.74 to 0.78) when predicting 30-day and 90-day postoperative mortality, respectively.

Conclusions

The OFS is a significant predictor of short-term postoperative mortality in patients with hip fracture that outperforms, or performs on par with, all other investigated indices.

Level of evidence

Level III, Prognostic and Epidemiological.

Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy in Pediatric Patients With Acute Kidney Injury After Liver Transplantation

Objective

This study aimed to explore the clinical application of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in pediatric patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) after liver transplantation.

Methods

Pediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation were retrospectively investigated. Those who developed AKI within 1 year after the surgery were included and divided into a CRRT group and a non-CRRT group. The perioperative conditions and postoperative complications of the two groups were compared along with the prognoses of the groups to analyze the high-risk factors of the postoperative CRRT.

Results

189 (36.91%) patients developed AKI within 1 year after the liver transplantation surgery. There were 18 patients in the CRRT group and 171 in the non-CRRT group. The differences in the preoperative conditions were not statistically significant between the two groups. Compared with the non-CRRT group, patients in the CRRT group had significantly longer transplantation times, higher volumes of intraoperative hemorrhage, and increased incidence of postoperative unscheduled surgery, postoperative primary nonfunction of the transplanted liver, secondary liver transplantation, hepatic artery occlusion, and intestinal fistula (P < 0.05). Moreover, the proportion of patients in AKI stage 3 is higher in the CRRT group (83.33%) than that in the non-CRRT group (11.11%), P < 0.001. The median time to initiate CRRT was 10 days postoperatively, the median number of CRRT treatments per patient was 2 times, the average duration of each CRRT treatment was 10.1 h, and the average rate of the decrease in blood creatinine per treatment was 25.6%. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that AKI stage 3 [OR=40.000, 95%CI (10.598, 150.969), P = 0.016], postoperative unscheduled surgery [OR=6.269, 95%CI (3.051, 26.379), P = 0.007], and hepatic artery occlusion [OR = 17.682, 95%CI (1.707, 40.843), P = 0.001] were recognized as risk factors for postoperative AKI with CRRT therapy. The one- and two-year survival rates were 72.22% and 72.22% in the CRRT group, respectively; and 97.08% and 96.49% in the non-CRRT group, accordingly. There were statistically significant differences in the one- and two-year survival rates between the two groups (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The incidence of AKI after liver transplantation in pediatric patients was high. Patients with AKI stage 3, hepatic artery occlusion, and underwent unscheduled surgery postoperatively were with a high likelihood of receiving CRRT, which was related to a lower one- and two-year survival rates. CRRT effectively improved the one- and two-year survival rates.

Factors contributing to the mortality of elderly patients with colorectal cancer within a year after surgery

Aims

Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) have a lower survival rate during the first year following resection surgery. We analyzed the factors influencing this early mortality.

Methods and Material

The clinicopathological data of patients aged 70 years or older who underwent radical surgery for CRC between January 2012 and December 2018 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. A total of 242 patients (141 males and 101 females), including 93 with colon cancer and 139 with rectal cancer, were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they survived beyond the first year after surgery. The clinicopathological data of both groups were compared using Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. The risk factors for mortality within 1-year after surgery were analyzed using the Cox regression model.

Results

Forty-three patients experienced at least one complication, including 34 cases with Clavien-Dindo grade I-II complications and 12 with Clavien-Dindo grade III-IV complications. Eleven patients died in the year following surgery. Patients with postoperative complications had higher mortality rates within the first year. Univariate analysis revealed that carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grades, and differentiation degree influenced the 1-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Multivariate analysis confirmed that CA19-9 levels and ASA grades were independent factors affecting OS and DFS during the first year after surgery.

Conclusion

Postoperative complications were associated with the early death of elderly CRC patients. CA19-9 levels and ASA grades are independent factors influencing OS and DFS.

The need for data describing the surgical population in Latin America

Latin American countries have a huge diversity in sociocultural factors, ethnicity, geography, and political systems. Provision of healthcare varies widely in Latin America, and it is unclear how these disparities relate to outcomes for individual patients undergoing surgery. The Latin American Surgical Outcome Study (LASOS), with its pragmatic design, will provide a snapshot of surgical activity throughout Latin America and identify the next steps needed to improve postoperative outcomes.

Surgical Outcomes for Early Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer at Facilities With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Programs

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing surgery for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may be at high risk for postoperative mortality. Access to stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) may facilitate more appropriate patient selection for surgery.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Is postoperative mortality associated with early stage NSCLC lower at facilities with higher use of SBRT?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Patients with early stage NSCLC reported to the National Cancer Database between 2004 and 2015 were included. Use of SBRT was defined by each facility's SBRT experience (in years) and SBRT to surgery volume ratios. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test for the associations between SBRT use and postoperative mortality.

RESULTS

The study cohort consisted of 202,542 patients who underwent surgical resection of cT1-T2N0M0 NSCLC tumors. The 90-day postoperative mortality rate declined during the study period from 4.6% to 2.6% (P < .001), the proportion of facilities that used SBRT increased from 4.6% to 77.5% (P < .001), and the proportion of patients treated with SBRT increased from 0.7% to 15.4% (P < .001). On multivariate analysis, lower 90-day postoperative mortality rates were observed at facilities with > 6 years of SBRT experience (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.76-0.94; P = .003) and SBRT to surgery volume ratios of more than 17% (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.79-0.92; P < .001). Ninety-day mortality also was associated with surgical volume, region, year, age, sex, and race, among other covariates. Interaction testing between these covariates showed negative results.

INTERPRETATION

Patients who underwent resection for early stage NSCLC at facilities with higher SBRT use showed lower rates of postoperative mortality. These findings suggest that the availability and use of SBRT may improve the selection of patients for surgery who are predicted to be at high risk of postoperative mortality.

Transoral robotic surgery adoption and safety in treatment of oropharyngeal cancers

BACKGROUND

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2009 for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancers (oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma [OPSCC]). This study investigated the adoption and safety of TORS.

METHODS

All patients who underwent TORS for OPSCC in the National Cancer Data Base from 2010 to 2016 were selected. Trends in the positive margin rate (PMR), 30-day unplanned readmission, and early postoperative mortality were evaluated. Outcomes after TORS, nonrobotic surgery (NRS), and nonsurgical treatment were compared with matched-pair survival analyses.

RESULTS

From 2010 to 2016, among 73,661 patients with OPSCC, 50,643 were treated nonsurgically, 18,024 were treated with NRS, and 4994 were treated with TORS. TORS utilization increased every year from 2010 (n = 363; 4.2%) to 2016 (n = 994; 8.3%). The TORS PMR for base of tongue malignancies decreased significantly over the study period (21.6% in 2010-2011 vs 15.8% in 2015-2016; P = .03). The TORS PMR at high-volume centers (≥10 cases per year; 11.2%) was almost half that of low-volume centers (<10 cases per year; 19.3%; P < .001). The rates of 30-day unplanned readmission (4.1%) and 30-day postoperative mortality (1.0%) after TORS were low and did not vary over time. High-volume TORS centers had significantly lower rates of 30-day postoperative mortality than low-volume centers (0.5% vs 1.5%; P = .006). In matched-pair analyses controlling for clinicopathologic cofactors, 30-, 60-, and 90-day posttreatment mortality did not vary among patients with OPSCC treated with TORS, NRS, or nonsurgical treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

TORS has become widely adopted and remains safe across the country with a very low risk of severe complications comparable to the risk with NRS. Although safety is excellent nationally, high-volume TORS centers have superior outcomes with lower rates of positive margins and early postoperative mortality.

High-TSH Subclinical Hypothyroidism Is Associated With Postoperative Mortality in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection

BACKGROUND

Subclinical hypothyroidism can negatively affect the cardiovascular system and increase the risk of mortality, especially for individuals with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels above 10 mU/L. We investigated the relationship between high-TSH subclinical hypothyroidism and postoperative mortality in acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) patients.

METHOD

We enrolled 146 patients with ATAAD who underwent aortic surgery in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from July 2016 to November 2018. Thyroid hormone levels were obtained before surgery, and participants were divided into a ≥10mU/L TSH level group and a <10mU/L level group. Cox proportional hazard regression and subgroup analysis were conducted to examine the association of preoperative high-TSH subclinical hypothyroidism with postoperative mortality.

RESULT

Participants with preoperative high-TSH (≥10mU/L) subclinical hypothyroidism tended to have longer hospitalization stays after surgery [16.0 (IQR 11.0-21.0) days vs 12.5 (IQR 8.0-16.0) days, P=0.001]. During the first 30 days after operation, 15 of 146 patients died (10.3%); during a median of 3.16 (IQR 1.76-4.56) years of follow-up, 24 patients died (16.4%). Cox proportional hazard regression showed that preoperative high-TSH subclinical hypothyroidism was independently associated with 30-day mortality (HR=6.2, 95% CI, 1.7-22.0, P=0.005) and postoperative mortality after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, hypertension, ejection fraction, diabetes and history of PCI (HR=3.4, 95% CI, 1.4-8.0, P=0.005).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that preoperative high-TSH subclinical hypothyroidism was an independent predictor of postoperative mortality in ATAAD patients who underwent aortic surgery.

Portal venous pressure in non-cirrhotic bilharzial patients undergoing elective splenectomy, can it affect mortality? A prospective study

Background and study aims

To evaluate the impact of intraoperatively measured portal vein pressure (PVP) on mortality in non-cirrhotic bilharzial patients undergoing splenectomy.

Methods

The present study is a prospective study that was conducted in Egypt from April 2014 to April 2018. Adult patients with non-cirrhotic bilharziasis who were scheduled to undergo splenectomy were included. Studied cases were divided into a survival cohort and a non-survival cohort. The main objective was the correlation between the incidence of mortality and intraoperative PVP.

Results

The present work comprised 130 cases with a mean age of 51.8 ± 6.4 years old. The in-hospital mortality rate was 22.3%, with sepsis as a major cause of death (37.9%). In term of the association between preoperative variables and mortality, survivors had statistically significant lower portal vein diameter (13.6 ± 1.8 versus 15.2 ± 1.8mm; p<0.001) and higher portal vein velocity (14.2 ± 1.8 versus 10.4 ± 2.3 cm/sec; p<0.001) than nonsurvivors. The survived patients had significantly lower PVP (13.9 ± 1.1 versus 17.7 ± 2.7; p<0.001). A cut-off value of ≥14.5 mmHg, the PVP yielded a sensitivity of 86.2% and a specificity of 69% for the prediction of mortality. The association analysis showed a statistically significant association between mortality and postoperative liver function parameters.

Conclusions

High intraoperative PVP is linked to early postoperative death in non-cirrhotic cases undergoing splenectomy. Our study showed that PVP > 14.5mmHg was an independent predictor of death and showed good diagnostic performance for the detection of early postoperative mortality.

The Pre-Operative GRADE Score Is Associated with 5-Year Survival among Older Patients with Cancer Undergoing Surgery

We aimed to assess the prognostic value of the pre-operative GRADE score for long-term survival among older adults undergoing major surgery for digestive or non-breast gynaecological cancers. Between 2013 and 2019, 136 consecutive older adults with cancer were prospectively recruited from the PF-EC cohort study before major cancer surgery and underwent a geriatric assessment. The GRADE score includes weight loss, gait speed at the threshold of 0.8 m/s, cancer site and cancer extension. The primary outcome was post-operative 5-year mortality. Patients were classified as low risk (GRADE ≤ 8) or high risk (GRADE > 8) on the basis of the median score. A Cox multivariate proportional hazards regression model was performed to assess the association between pre-operative factors and 5-year mortality expressed by adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% CI. The median age was 80 years, 52% were men, 73% had colorectal cancer. The 30-day post-operative severe complication rate (Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3) was 37%. The 5-year post-operative mortality rate was 34.5%. A GRADE score ≥ 8 (aHR = 2.64 [1.34-5.21], p = 0.0002) was associated with post-operative mortality after adjustment for Body Mass Index < 21 kg/m² and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living <3/4. By combining very simple geriatric and cancer parameters, the pre-operative GRADE score provides a discriminant prognosis and could help to choose the most suitable treatment strategy for older cancer patients, avoiding under or over-treatment.

Prediction of Postoperative Mortality in Patients With Organ Failure Following Pancreaticoduodenectomy

BACKGROUND

Failure to rescue (FTR) patients with postoperative complications contribute to a significant proportion of postoperative mortality. Our main objective was to determine the risk factors for FTR among patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy who suffered a life-threatening complication requiring intensive care unit (ICU) management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Consecutive patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy from 2011 to 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. Causes of organ failure were described as the one that most commonly contributed to patient's transfer to ICU or death. Two groups were created based on whether patients had FTR and risk factors for FTR were compared. The impact of baseline characteristics, operative characteristics, and risk scoring on FTR was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS

There were 19/58 (33%) FTR patients. Baseline, operative characteristics, postoperative complications, and length of hospital and ICU stay were similar between groups. However, a higher proportion of FTR patients experienced a postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) (16% vs 2.6%, P = .062). Among patients who experienced a POPF, the FTR group had a trend in delayed time from diagnosis to treatment (7 vs 23 hours, P=.131). Renal complications (OR 6.12, 95% CI, 1.23 to 38.43, P = .035) and time from POPF diagnosis to treatment (OR 1.05, 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.11, P = .036) were independent predictors of FTR by multivariable analysis.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of certain postoperative complications such as renal complications as well as delayed timing of the management of POPF is predictive of FTR following pancreaticoduodenectomy, especially as delayed timing to treatment is a risk factor for FTR.

Anaesthesia's legacy: carpe diem

Intraoperative mortality is now rare. In contrast, 30-day postoperative mortality remains common, with most deaths occurring during the initial hospitalisation. The legacy of anaesthesiology will be determined by our success in dealing with postoperative mortality, which is currently the major problem in perioperative medicine. Carpe diem!

Failure to rescue: A quality indicator for postoperative care

Postoperative complications occur despite optimal perioperative care and are an important driver of mortality after surgery. Failure to rescue, defined as death in a patient who has experienced serious complications, has emerged as a quality metric that provides a mechanistic pathway to explain disparities in mortality rates among hospitals that have similar perioperative complication rates. The risk of failure to rescue is higher after invasive surgical procedures and varies according to the type of postoperative complication. Multiple patient factors have been associated with failure to rescue. However, failure to rescue is more strongly correlated with hospital factors. In addition, microsystem factors, such as institutional safety culture, teamwork, and other attitudes and behaviors may interact with the hospital resources to effectively prevent patient deterioration. Early recognition through bedside and remote monitoring is the first step toward prevention of failure to rescue followed by rapid response initiatives and timely escalation of care.

Understanding the performance of a pan-African intervention to reduce postoperative mortality: a mixed-methods process evaluation of the ASOS-2 trial

BACKGROUND

The African Surgical OutcomeS-2 (ASOS-2) trial tested an enhanced postoperative surveillance intervention to reduce postoperative mortality in Africa. We undertook a concurrent evaluation to understand the process of intervention delivery.

METHODS

Mixed-methods process evaluation, including field notes, interviews, and post-trial questionnaire responses. Qualitative analysis used the framework method with subsequent creation of comparative case studies, grouping hospitals by intervention fidelity. A post-trial questionnaire was developed using initial qualitative analyses. Categorical variables were summarised as count (%) and continuous variables as median (inter-quartile range [IQR]). Odds ratios (OR) were used to rank influences by impact on fidelity.

RESULTS

The dataset included eight in-depth case studies, and 96 questionnaire responses (response rate 67%) plus intervention fidelity data for each trial site. Overall, 57% (n=55/96) of hospitals achieved intervention delivery using an inclusive definition of fidelity. Delivery of the ASOS-2 interventions and data collection presented a significant burden to the investigators, outstripping limited resources. The influences most associated with fidelity were: surgical staff enthusiasm for the trial (OR=3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-7.0); nursing management support of the trial (OR=2.6; 95% CI, 1.1-6.5); performance of a dummy run (OR=2.6; 95% CI, 1.1-6.1); nursing colleagues seeing the value of the intervention(s) (OR=2.1; 95% CI, 0.9-5.7); and site investigators' belief in the effectiveness of the intervention (OR=3.2; 95% CI, 1.2-9.4).

CONCLUSIONS

ASOS-2 has proved that coordinated interventional research across Africa is possible, but delivering the ASOS-2 interventions was a major challenge for many investigators. Future improvement science efforts must include better planning for intervention delivery, additional support to investigators, and promotion of strong inter-professional teamwork.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials gov NCT03853824.

In-hospital survival after pancreatoduodenectomy is greater in high-volume hospitals versus lower-volume hospitals: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Variation in cut-off values for what is considered a high volume (HV) hospital has made assessments of volume-outcome relationships for pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) challenging. Accordingly, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing in-hospital mortality after PD in hospitals above and below HV thresholds of various cut-off values.

METHOD

PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched to 4 January 2021 for studies comparing in-hospital mortality after PD in hospitals above and below defined HV thresholds. After data extraction, risk of bias was assessed using the Downs and Black checklist. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis, including meta-regressions. Registration: PROSPERO, CRD42021224432.

RESULTS

From 1855 records, 17 observational studies of moderate quality were included. Median HV cut-off was 25 PDs/year (IQR: 20-32). Overall relative risk of in-hospital mortality was 0.37 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.45), that is, 63% less in HV hospitals. All subgroup analyses found an in-hospital survival benefit in performing PDs at HV hospitals. Meta-regressions from included studies found no statistically significant associations between relative risk of in-hospital mortality and region (USA vs. non-USA; p = 0.396); or 25th percentile (p = 0.231), median (p = 0.822) or 75th percentile (p = 0.469) HV cut-off values. Significant inverse relationships were found between PD hospital volume and other outcomes.

CONCLUSION

In-hospital survival was significantly greater for patients undergoing PDs at HV hospitals, regardless of HV cut-off value or region. Future research is required to investigate regions where low-volume centres have specialized PD infrastructure and the potential impact on mortality.

Intraoperative Hypotension and Related Risk Factors for Postoperative Mortality After Noncardiac Surgery in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Analysis Report

Background

Blood pressure fluctuation is very common during non-cardiac surgery in elderly. This retrospective study was to analyse whether intraoperative hypotension in elderly and other risk factors relate to the postoperative mortality.

Methods

A total of 118 cases (Observational group), who underwent noncardiac surgery in three medical centers between September 2014 and March 2017, and died in the hospital after the noncardiac surgery. With 1:2 ratio of propensity matching, 236 survival cases (Control group) were selected for comparison analyses with the death cases. Intraoperative blood pressure and perioperative parameters from both groups were collected from electronic anaesthesia charts. Data were analysed with univariate logistic regression analysis where variables with p values less than 0.05 were analysed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed.

Results

There are five risk factors related to postoperative death in elderly patients: ASA grade, COPD, emergency surgery, general anesthesia, 60 < MAP ≤ 65mmHg (OR > 1), and one factor may reduce the risk of postoperative mortality, which is PACU therapy (OR < 1). Compared with the Control group, the Observational group had a higher proportion of cerebral hernia, kidney injury and trauma (p < 0.001). The intraoperative blood transfusion volume and intraoperative blood loss volume were higher in the Observational group than the Control group (p < 0.001). The proportion of using vasoactive drugs was higher in the Observational group (p < 0.001), and there was more urine output during the operation in the Observational group (p = 0.005).

Conclusion

The intraoperative MAP of geriatric patients lower than 65mmHg is highly related to the postoperative mortality. Elderly patients with emergency surgery, high ASA grade and a history of COPD have an increased risk of postoperative mortality. General anesthesia is a risk factor for postoperative death in elderly patients, and the PACU therapy is a protective factor to avoid postoperative death.

Trial Registration

This study has been retrospectively registered in the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR2000038912, 10/10/2020).

Anastomotic leakage and postoperative mortality in patients after esophageal cancer resection

Objective

Esophagectomy is a high-risk surgical procedure with significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of cervical anastomotic leakage and postoperative mortality.

Methods

In this retrospective, observational study, we recruited 1010 patients with esophageal cancer. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify factors affecting anastomotic leakage and postoperative mortality. After propensity score matching, the Kaplan–Meier curve was used to evaluate the effect of leakage on postoperative mortality.

Results

The number of patients with cervical anastomotic leakage, in-hospital mortality, 30-day postoperative mortality, and 60-day postoperative mortality was 194 (19.2%), 13 (1.3%), 12 (1.2%), and 16 (1.6%), respectively. The total length of hospital stay and hospital stay postoperatively were 29.7 ± 21.1 and 21.3 ± 20.3 days, respectively. Diabetes, stage IV, and an upper thoracic tumor were significant risk factors for leakage. Leakage and diabetes were significant risk factors for postoperative mortality. After propensity score matching, leakage also significantly affected postoperative mortality.

Conclusions

Patients with tumors in the upper thoracic segment of the esophagus may be more prone to developing anastomotic leakage compared with those with tumors in the middle or lower thoracic segment. Anastomotic leakage may prolong the length of hospital stay and increase postoperative mortality.

The effect of intra-operative hypotension on acute kidney injury, postoperative mortality and length of stay following emergency hip fracture surgery

The association between intra-operative hypotension and postoperative acute kidney injury, mortality and length of stay has not been comprehensively evaluated in a large single-centre hip fracture population. We analysed electronic anaesthesia records of 1063 patients undergoing unilateral hip fracture surgery, collected from 2015 to 2018. Acute kidney injury, 3-, 30- and 365-day mortality and length of stay were evaluated to assess the relationship between intra-operative hypotension absolute values (≤ 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75 mmHg) and duration of hypotension. The rate of acute kidney injury was 23.7%, mortality at 3-, 30- and 365 days was 3.7%, 8.0% and 25.3%, respectively, and median (IQR [range]) length of stay 8 (6-12 [0-99]) days. Median (IQR [range]) time ≤ MAP 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75 mmHg was 0 (0-0.5[0-72.1]); 0 (0-4.4 [0-104.9]); 2.2 (0-8.7 [0-144.2]); 6.6 (2.2-19.7 [0-198.8]); 17.5 (6.6-37.1 [0-216.3]) minutes, and percentage of surgery time below these thresholds was 1%, 2.5%, 7.9%, 12% and 21% respectively. There were some univariate associations between hypotension and mortality; however, these were no longer evident in multivariable analysis. Multivariable analysis found no association between hypotension and acute kidney injury. Acute kidney injury was associated with male sex, antihypertensive medications and cardiac/renal comorbidities. Three-day mortality was associated with delay to surgery ? 48 hours, whilst 30-day and 365-day mortality was associated with delay to surgery ≥ 48 hours, impaired cognition and cardiac/renal comorbidities. While the rate of acute kidney injury was similar to other studies, use of vasopressors and fluids to reduce the time spent at hypotensive levels failed to reduce this complication. Intra-operative hypotension at the levels observed in this cohort may not be an important determinant of acute kidney injury, postoperative mortality and length of stay.

Predicting 1-Year Mortality after Hip Fracture Surgery: An Evaluation of Multiple Machine Learning Approaches

Postoperative death within 1 year following hip fracture surgery is reported to be up to 27%. In the current study, we benchmarked the predictive precision and accuracy of the algorithms support vector machine (SVM), naïve Bayes classifier (NB), and random forest classifier (RF) against logistic regression (LR) in predicting 1-year postoperative mortality in hip fracture patients as well as assessed the relative importance of the variables included in the LR model. All adult patients who underwent primary emergency hip fracture surgery in Sweden, between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2017 were included in the study. Patients with pathological fractures and non-operatively managed hip fractures, as well as those who died within 30 days after surgery, were excluded from the analysis. A LR model with an elastic net regularization were fitted and compared to NB, SVM, and RF. The relative importance of the variables in the LR model was then evaluated using the permutation importance. The LR model including all the variables demonstrated an acceptable predictive ability on both the training and test datasets for predicting one-year postoperative mortality (Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74 and 0.74 respectively). NB, SVM, and RF tended to over-predict the mortality, particularly NB and SVM algorithms. In contrast, LR only over-predicted mortality when the predicted probability of mortality was larger than 0.7. The LR algorithm outperformed the other three algorithms in predicting 1-year postoperative mortality in hip fracture patients. The most important predictors of 1-year mortality were the presence of a metastatic carcinoma, American Society of Anesthesiologists(ASA) classification, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) ≤ 4, age, dementia, congestive heart failure, hypertension, surgery using pins/screws, and chronic kidney disease.

Effect of electroencephalogram-guided anaesthesia administration on 1 yr mortality: 1 yr follow-up of a randomised clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Intraoperative EEG suppression duration has been associated with postoperative delirium and mortality. In a clinical trial testing anaesthesia titration to avoid EEG suppression, the intervention did not decrease the incidence of postoperative delirium, but was associated with reduced 30 day mortality. The present study evaluated whether the EEG-guided anaesthesia intervention continued to be associated with reduced 1 yr mortality.

METHODS

This manuscript reports 1 yr follow-up of patients from a single-centre RCT, including a post-hoc secondary outcome (1 yr mortality) in addition to pre-specified secondary outcomes. The trial included patients aged 60 yr or older undergoing surgery with general anaesthesia between January 2015 and May 2018. Patients were randomised to receive EEG-guided anaesthesia or usual care. The previously reported primary outcome was postoperative delirium. The outcome of the current study was all-cause 1 yr mortality.

RESULTS

Of the 1232 patients enrolled, 614 patients were randomised to EEG-guided anaesthesia and 618 patients to usual care. One year mortality was 57/591 (9.6%) in the guided group and 62/601 (10.3%) in the usual-care group. No significant difference in mortality was observed (adjusted absolute risk difference, -0.7%; 99.5% confidence interval, -5.8% to 4.3%; P=0.68).

CONCLUSIONS

An EEG-guided anaesthesia intervention aiming to decrease duration of EEG suppression during surgery did not significantly decrease 1 yr mortality. These findings, in the context of other studies, do not provide supportive evidence for EEG-guided anaesthesia to prevent intermediate term postoperative death.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT02241655.

Factors predictive of 90-day mortality after surgical resection for oral cavity cancer: Development of a recursive partitioning analysis for risk stratification

BACKGROUND

Factors that influence postoperative mortality (POM) have been identified, but a predictive model to guide clinicians treating oral cavity cancer (OCC) has not been well established.

METHODS

Patients with OCC undergoing upfront surgical resection were included. Primary outcome was 90-day POM (90dPOM).

RESULTS

33 845 were identified using the National Cancer Database. Rate of 90dPOM was 3.2%. Predictors of higher 90dPOM include older age, higher comorbidity scores, nonprivate insurance, lower income, treatment in an academic facility, higher T- and N-classification, radical excision, and presence of positive margins. On RPA, two high-risk (90dPOM > 10%) patient subsets were identified: patients ≥80 years of age with T3-4 disease and patients <80 years, with any comorbidity and T3-4, N2-3 disease.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified a subset of patients in this cohort who are at high risk for 90dPOM. These patients may warrant additional perioperative and postoperative monitoring in addition to better preoperative assessment and screening.

Predictive Values of Preoperative Characteristics for 30-Day Mortality in Traumatic Hip Fracture Patients

Hip fracture patients have a high risk of mortality after surgery, with 30-day postoperative rates as high as 10%. This study aimed to explore the predictive ability of preoperative characteristics in traumatic hip fracture patients as they relate to 30-day postoperative mortality using readily available variables in clinical practice. All adult patients who underwent primary emergency hip fracture surgery in Sweden between 2008 and 2017 were included in the analysis. Associations between the possible predictors and 30-day mortality was performed using a multivariate logistic regression (LR) model; the bidirectional stepwise method was used for variable selection. An LR model and convolutional neural network (CNN) were then fitted for prediction. The relative importance of individual predictors was evaluated using the permutation importance and Gini importance. A total of 134,915 traumatic hip fracture patients were included in the study. The CNN and LR models displayed an acceptable predictive ability for predicting 30-day postoperative mortality using a test dataset, displaying an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of as high as 0.76. The variables with the highest importance in prediction were age, sex, hypertension, dementia, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, and the Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI). Both the CNN and LR models achieved an acceptable performance in identifying patients at risk of mortality 30 days after hip fracture surgery. The most important variables for prediction, based on the variables used in the current study are age, hypertension, dementia, sex, ASA classification, and RCRI.

Postoperative Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis: Reconsidering Expectations

BACKGROUND

A diagnosis of cirrhosis increases a patient's risk of postoperative mortality. Surgeons are reticent to operate when cirrhosis is known unless no option is available. This study aimed to identify the modern perioperative risk in cirrhotic patients undergoing intervention under general anesthesia for non-transplant operations.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted utilizing the Rush Medical Center electronic medical record. All patients over 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cirrhosis undergoing intervention between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed. 90-day mortality rates in patients grouped by Child's score, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease with sodium incorporated (MELDNa) were compared to previously accepted rates.

RESULTS

93 patients (46% women) aged 22-72 years of all Child-Turcot-Pugh (CTP) (40% A, 36% B, and 25% C) classifications and MELD/MELDNa ranging 6-40 were analyzed. 90-day mortality of the entire population was 16%, significantly lower than expected based on CTP score (16% vs. 32%; P = .0005), MELD (16% vs. 41%; P < .0001), and MELDNa (16% vs. 46.8%; P < .0001). This was also true for CTP-B patients (12% vs. 30%; P = .025), CTP-C patients (35% vs. 70%; P = .0002), patients with MELD >14 (27% vs. 70%; P < .001), and patients with MELDNa >14 (23% vs. 70%; P < .0001).

CONCLUSION

Data indicate that perioperative mortality is lower than widely accepted. This suggests the need for a national database study using a representative population to determine the risk of mortality for patients with cirrhosis having surgery in recent times. Accurate estimation of this risk allows for meaningful discussion between physicians and patients when deciding to proceed with elective, necessary operations.

Hospital volume is associated with postoperative mortality after radical cystectomy for treatment of bladder cancer

Objective

To contribute to the debate regarding the minimum volume of radical cystectomies (RCs) that a hospital should perform by evaluating the association between hospital volume (HV) and postoperative mortality.

Patients and Methods

Patients who underwent RC for bladder cancer between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2018 were retrospectively identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. To create a calendar‐year independent measure, the HV of RCs was calculated per patient by counting the RCs performed in the same hospital in the 12 months preceding surgery. The relationship of HV with 30‐ and 90‐day mortality was assessed by logistic regression with a non‐linear spline function for HV as a continuous variable, which was adjusted for age, tumour, node and metastasis (TNM) stage, and neoadjuvant treatment.

Results

The median (interquartile range; range) HV among the 9287 RC‐treated patients was 19 (12–27; 1–75). Of all the included patients, 208 (2.2%) and 518 (5.6%) died within 30 and 90 days after RC, respectively. After adjustment for age, TNM stage and neoadjuvant therapy, postoperative mortality slightly increased between an HV of 0 and an HV of 25 RCs and steadily decreased from an HV of 30 onwards. The lowest risks of postoperative mortality were observed for the highest volumes.

Conclusion

This paper, based on high‐quality data from a large nationwide population‐based cohort, suggests that increasing the RC volume criteria beyond 30 RCs annually could further decrease postoperative mortality. Based on these results, the volume criterion of 20 RCs annually, as recently recommended by the European Association of Urology Guideline Panel, might therefore be reconsidered.

Comparing the Effects of General Versus Regional Anesthesia on Postoperative Mortality in Total and Partial Hip Arthroplasty

Purpose

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and partial hip arthroplasty (PHA) are performed in patients with hip joint dysfunction such as osteoarthritis or hip fractures and are associated with complications including mortality. There is a lack of evidence in the literature regarding whether the type of anesthesia (regional vs. general) is associated with increased postoperative mortality in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. The present study compares early postoperative mortality between general or regional anesthesia administered to patients undergoing either THA or PHA.

Methods

A retrospective cohort was assembled using the 2015-2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Adult patients undergoing hip arthroplasty under general or regional anesthesia were included. Patients were excluded if receiving any other type of anesthesia, as well as having an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification score ≥ 4, preoperative acute renal failure, severe congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or ascites. Adjusted odds of 30 days all-cause postoperative mortality according to the type of anesthesia were estimated by fitting multiple logistic regression models that included potential confounders and effect modifiers.

Results

A total of 60,897 patients were included in the study. Given that the interaction between the type of anesthesia and the type of arthroplasty was statistically significant, separated models were fitted for each type of arthroplasty. There was no evidence of an association between type of anesthesia and postoperative mortality in hip arthroplasty patients regardless of whether the arthroplasty was partial (odds ratio {OR} = 0.85; confidence interval {CI} 0.59-1.22) or total (OR = 0.68; CI 0.43-1.08).

Conclusion

The overall early postoperative mortality in adult hip arthroplasty patients is low in the absence of risk factors such as severe CHF, COPD, ascites, acute renal failure, and ASA score of 4 or higher. Our findings suggest there is no association between the type of anesthesia received (general vs. regional) and early postoperative mortality rates in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty, regardless of type (total vs. partial).

Invasive central venous monitoring during hepatic resection: unnecessary for most patients

BACKGROUND

Low central venous pressure (LCVP) anesthesia reduces blood loss during hepatic resection and historically has required a central venous catheter (CVC) for intra-operative monitoring. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an evolution of practice to CVP monitoring without CVC on the perioperative outcomes after liver resection.

METHODS

A retrospective study of partial hepatectomy patients from 2007 to 2016 who were over 18 years of age was performed.

RESULTS

Of 3903 patients having partial hepatectomy, 2445 (62%) met inclusion criteria, and 404 (16%) had a CVC. Overall morbidity (33% non-CVC vs 38% CVC P = 0.076), major morbidity (16% vs 20% P = 0.067), and infective complications (superficial wound infection) 3% vs 4% P = 0.429; deep wound infection (5% vs 6% P = 0.720) did not differ between the two groups. In multivariate analysis, superficial wound infection, deep wound infection, and major complications were not associated with the presence of a CVC. All-cause mortality at 90 days was associated with CVC presence (OR 3.45, CI 1.74-6.85, P = 0.001) and age (OR 1.05, CI 1.02-1.08, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Since the adoption of non-invasive CVP monitoring, there has been no increase in adverse peri-operative outcomes.

Morbidity and mortality after major large bowel resection of non-malignant polyp among participants in a population-based screening program

Background and aims

Colonoscopy following positive fecal occult blood screening may detect non-malignant polyps deemed to require major large bowel resection. We aimed to estimate the major inpatient morbidity and mortality associated with major resection of non-malignant polyps detected at colonoscopy following positive guaiac fecal occult blood screening in Ontario's population-based colorectal screening program.

Methods

We identified those without a diagnosis of colorectal cancer in the Ontario Cancer Registry ≤24 months following the date of colonoscopy prompted by positive fecal occult blood screening between 2008 and 2017, who underwent a major large bowel resection ≤24 months after the colonoscopy, with a diagnosis code for non-malignant polyp, in the absence of a code for any other large bowel diagnosis. We extracted records of major inpatient complications and readmissions ≤30 days following resection. We computed mortality within 90 days following resection.

Results

For those undergoing colonoscopy ≤6 months following positive guaiac fecal occult blood screening, 420/127,872 (0.03%) underwent major large bowel resection for a non-malignant polyp. In 50/420 (11.9%), the resection included one or more rectosigmoid or rectal polyps, with or without a colonic polyp. There were one or more major inpatient complications or readmissions within 30 days in 117/420 (27.9%). Death occurred within 90 days in 6/420 (1.4%).

Conclusions

Serious inpatient complications and readmissions following major large bowel resection for non-malignant colorectal polyps are common, but mortality ≤90 days following resection is low. These outcomes should be considered as unintended adverse consequences of population-based colorectal screening programs.

Few and feasible preoperative variables can identify high-risk surgical patients: derivation and validation of the Ex-Care risk model

BACKGROUND

The development of feasible preoperative risk tools is desirable, especially for low-middle income countries with limited resources and complex surgical settings. This study aimed to derive and validate a preoperative risk model (Ex-Care model) for postoperative mortality and compare its performance with current risk tools.

METHODS

A multivariable logistic regression model predicting in-hospital mortality was developed using a large Brazilian surgical cohort. Patient and perioperative predictors were considered. Its performance was compared with the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI), and the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT).

RESULTS

The derivation cohort included 16 618 patients. In-hospital death occurred in 465 patients (2.8%). Age, with adjusted splines, degree of procedure (major vs non-major), ASA physical status, and urgency were entered in a final model. It showed high discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.926 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-0.93). It had superior accuracy to the RCRI (AUROC, 0.90 vs 0.76; P<0.01) and similar to the CCI (0.90 vs 0.82; P=0.06) and SORT models (0.90 vs 0.92; P=0.2) in the temporal validation cohort of 1173 patients. Calibration was adequate in both development (Hosmer-Lemeshow, 9.26; P=0.41) and temporal validation cohorts (Hosmer-Lemeshow 5.29; P=0.71).

CONCLUSIONS

The Ex-Care risk model proved very efficient at identifying high-risk surgical patients. Although multicentre studies are needed, it should have particular value in low resource settings to better inform perioperative health policy and clinical decision-making.

Drug Use and Postoperative Mortality Following Valve Surgery for Infective Endocarditis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Infective endocarditis (IE) often requires surgical intervention. An increasingly common cause of IE is injection drug use (IDU-IE). There is conflicting evidence on whether postoperative mortality differs between people with IDU-IE and people with IE from etiologies other than injection drug use (non-IDU-IE). In this manuscript, we compare short-term postoperative mortality in IDU-IE vs non-IDU-IE through systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

The review was conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Publication databases were queried for key terms included in articles up to September 2017. Randomized controlled trials, prospective cohorts, or retrospective cohorts that reported on 30-day mortality or in-hospital/operative mortality following valve surgery and that compared outcomes between IDU-IE and non-IDU-IE were included.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies with 1593 patients (n = 341 [21.4%] IDU-IE) were included in the meta-analysis. IDU-IE patients more frequently had tricuspid valve infection, Staphylococcus infection, and heart failure before surgery. Meta-analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in 30-day postsurgical mortality or in-hospital mortality between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite differing preoperative clinical characteristics, early postoperative mortality does not differ between IDU-IE and non-IDU-IE patients who undergo valve surgery. Future research on long-term outcomes following valve replacement is needed to identify opportunities for improved healthcare delivery with IDU-IE.

Intraoperative Blood Pressure Variability Predicts Postoperative Mortality in Non-Cardiac Surgery-A Prospective Observational Cohort Study

Little is known about the clinical importance of blood pressure variability (BPV) during anesthesia in non-cardiac surgery. We sought to investigate the impact of intraoperative BPV on postoperative mortality in non-cardiac surgery subjects, taking into account patient- and procedure-related variables. This prospective observational study covered 835 randomly selected patients who underwent gastrointestinal (n = 221), gynecological (n = 368) and neurosurgical (n = 246) procedures. Patient’s and procedure’s risks were assessed according to the validated tools and guidelines. Blood pressure (systolic, SBP, and diastolic, DBP) was recorded in five-minute intervals during anesthesia. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was assessed. Individual coefficients of variation (Cv) were calculated. Postoperative 30-day mortality was considered the outcome. Median SBP_Cv was 11.2% (IQR 8.4–14.6), DBP_Cv was 12.7% (IQR 9.8–16.3) and MAP_Cv was 10.96% (IQR 8.26–13.86). Mortality was 2%. High SBP_Cv (i.e., ≥11.9%) was associated with increased mortality by 4.5 times (OR = 4.55; 95% CI 1.48–13.93; p = 0.008). High DBP_Cv (i.e., ≥22.4%) was associated with increased mortality by nearly 10 times (OR = 9.73; 95% CI 3.26–28.99; p < 0.001). High MAP_Cv (i.e., ≥13.6%) was associated with increased mortality by 3.5 times (OR = 3.44; 95% CI 1.34–8.83; p = 0.01). In logistic regression, it was confirmed that the outcome was dependent on both SBPV and DBPV, after adjustment for perioperative variables, with AUCSBP_Cv = 0.884 (95% CI 0.859–0.906; p < 0.001) and AUCDBP_Cv = 0.897 (95% CI 0.873–0.918; p < 0.001). Therefore, intraoperative BPV may be considered a prognostic factor for the postoperative mortality in non-cardiac surgery, and DBPV seems more accurate in outcome prediction than SBPV.

Incidence and variables associated with 30-day mortality after lung transplantation

BACKGROUND

With the introduction of the lung allocation score (LAS), sicker patients are prioritized for lung transplantation (LT). There is a lack of data regarding variables independently associated with 30-day mortality after LT.

METHODS

We queried the UNOS database for adult patients undergoing LT between 1989 and 2014. Patients with dual organ or previous transplantation and those with missing survival data were excluded. Mortality during the first 30 days after LT was the primary outcome variable.

RESULTS

The yearly trends indicate a statistically significant reduction in the 30-day mortality during the study period (P < 0.001, overall mortality: 5.5%) which has continued in the post-LAS era (P = 0. 014, overall mortality: 3.6%). Among patients with 30-day mortality, "primary non-function" (n = 118, 72.8%) was reported as the most common etiology. Transplant indication of vascular diseases, history of non-transplant cardiac or lung surgery, mean pulmonary pressures >35 mm Hg, disabled functional status, ECMO support, high LAS, ischemic time >6 hours, and blunt injury as the mechanism of donor death are independently associated with 30-day mortality.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of early mortality after LT continues to decline in the post-LAS era. Apart from the mechanism of donor death and ischemic time, early mortality appears to be primarily driven by the recipient characteristics.