Optimizing Perioperative Renal Replacement Therapy for Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgical Procedures Requiring Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Coronary artery disease is highly prevalent in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and cardiovascular complications remain the most common cause of death in this patient population. Accordingly, many cardiac surgical procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass support are performed on these patients each year, with morbidity and mortality rates far exceeding patients without ESRD. Anuric patients lack the normal renal homeostatic functions which typically allow for physiologic protection from challenges during the operation, such as volume overload, hyperkalemia, and acidemia.

Prolonged Unconsciousness is Common in COVID-19 and Associated with Hypoxemia.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the time to recovery of command-following and associations between hypoxemia with time to recovery of command-following.

Methods: In this multicenter, retrospective, cohort study during the initial surge of the United States' pandemic (March-July 2020) we estimate the time from intubation to recovery of command-following, using Kaplan Meier cumulative-incidence curves and Cox proportional hazard models. Patients were included if they were admitted to 1 of 3 hospitals because of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), required endotracheal intubation for at least 7 days, and experienced impairment of consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale motor score <6).

Frontal Electroencephalography Findings in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) negatively impacts the central nervous system, and studies using a full montage of electroencephalogram (EEG) electrodes have reported nonspecific EEG patterns associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. The use of this technology is resource-intensive and limited in its implementation. In this descriptive pilot study, we report neurophysiological patterns and the potential prognostic capability of an abbreviated frontal EEG electrode montage in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation allocation in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rapid global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the resultant clinical illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), drove the World Health Organization to declare COVID-19 a pandemic. Veno-venous Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is an established therapy for management of patients demonstrating the most severe forms of hypoxemic respiratory failure from COVID-19. However, features of COVID-19 pathophysiology and necessary length of treatment present distinct challenges for utilization of VV-ECMO within the current healthcare emergency.

Logistical Considerations and Clinical Outcomes Associated With Converting Operating Rooms Into an Intensive Care Unit During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in a New York City Hospital.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a public health crisis that disrupted normal patterns of health care in the New York City metropolitan area. In preparation for a large influx of critically ill patients, operating rooms (ORs) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP-Columbia) were converted into a novel intensive care unit (ICU) area, the operating room intensive care unit (ORICU).

Methods: Twenty-three ORs were converted into an 82-bed ORICU.

Use of 90-day mortality does not change assessment of hospital quality after coronary artery bypass grafting in New York State.

Objectives: Publicly reported postoperative 30-day mortality rates are commonly used to compare hospital quality after coronary artery bypass grafting. We sought to determine whether 90-day mortality rates, which are not publicly reported but better capture postdischarge mortality, are a better determinant of hospital performance.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 30- versus 90-day risk-standardized mortality rates at adult cardiac surgical centers in New York State from 2008 to 2014.

Frailty in Critical Care Medicine: A Review.

Traditional approaches to clinical risk assessment utilize age as a marker of increased vulnerability to stress. Relatively recent advancements in the study of aging have led to the concept of the frailty syndrome, which represents a multidimensional state of depleted physiologic and psychosocial reserve and clinical vulnerability that is related to but variably present with advancing age. The frailty syndrome is now a well-established clinical entity that serves as both a guide for clinical intervention and a predictor of poor outcomes in the primary and acute care settings.

Supporting the Geriatric Critical Care Patient: Decision Making, Understanding Outcomes, and the Role of Palliative Care.

Geriatric admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) are common and require unique considerations for ICU clinicians. Admission to the ICU should be considered on an individual-patient basis. It is reasonable to consider a "trial of critical care" for many patients, even those who have uncertain chances of meaningful recovery.

Off-Pump Versus On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting-A Systematic Review and Analysis of Clinical Outcomes.

Surgical coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the standard of care for revascularization of left main or three-vessel coronary artery disease. The off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB) procedure avoids the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Theoretically, OPCAB may improve long-term outcomes by reducing the rates of perioperative myocardial injury, stroke, neurocognitive impairment, and cardiac-related mortality.

Vasoplegia After Cardiovascular Procedures-Pathophysiology and Targeted Therapy.

Vasoplegic syndrome, characterized by low systemic vascular resistance and hypotension in the presence of normal or supranormal cardiac function, is a frequent complication of cardiovascular surgery. It is associated with a diffuse systemic inflammatory response and is mediated largely through cellular hyperpolarization, high levels of inducible nitric oxide, and a relative vasopressin deficiency. Cardiopulmonary bypass is a particularly strong precipitant of the vasoplegic syndrome, largely due to its association with nitric oxide production and severe vasopressin deficiency.

Anesthesia for Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation.

Kidney transplants are the most common solid organ abdominal transplant and are occasionally performed simultaneously with pancreas transplants in diabetic patients. Preoperative evaluation of potential transplant recipients should focus on the potential for occult cardiovascular disease while also screening for other signs of end-organ dysfunction. Intraoperatively, it is of utmost importance to ensure adequate graft perfusion to limit the risk of postoperative graft dysfunction or rejection.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Atrial Tissue of Patients Developing Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Mitochondria are the major site of cellular oxidation. Metabolism and oxidative stress have been implicated as possible mechanisms for postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after cardiac operations. Establishing the precise nature of mitochondrial dysfunction as an etiologic factor for oxidative stress-related cell death and apoptosis could further the understanding of POAF.

Hypothermia for severe traumatic brain injury in adults: Recent lessons from randomized controlled trials.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide health concern associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, severe TBI is managed according to recommendations set forth in 2007 by the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF), which were based on relatively low quality clinical trials. These guidelines prescribed the use of hypothermia for the management of TBI.

Whole-brain proton MR spectroscopic imaging in Parkinson's disease.

Background And Purpose: To examine the distributions of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) observed metabolites in Parkinson's disease (PD) throughout the whole brain.

Methods: Twelve PD patients and 18 age-matched controls were studied using neuropsychological testing, MRI and volumetric MR spectroscopic imaging. Average values of signal normalized metabolite values for N-acetyl-aspartate, total-creatine, and total-choline (NAA, total-Cre, total-Cho, respectively) and their ratios were calculated for gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in each lobar brain region.