Association between Preoperative Retrograde Hepatic Vein Flow and Acute Kidney Injury after Cardiac Surgery.

Key questions: Is there a predictive value of hepatic venous flow patterns for postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery? Key findings: In patients who underwent cardiac surgery, retrograde hepatic venous waves (A, V) and their respective ratio to anterograde waves showed a strong association with postoperative AKI, defined as the percentage change of the highest postoperative serum creatinine from the baseline preoperative concentration (%ΔCr). The velocity time integral (VTI) of the retrograde A wave and the ratio of the retrograde and anterograde waves’ VTI were independently associated with AKI after adjustment for disease severity. Take-home message: A higher ratio of retrograde/antegrade waves in hepatic venous retrograde waves, which are related to hepatic stasis, may predict AKI after cardiac surgery.

Effect of Preoperative Chronic Opioid Use on Mortality and Morbidity in Vascular Surgical Patients.

Introduction Opioid derivates are an essential part of everyday clinical pain management practice. They have excellent analgesic, sedative, and sympatholytic effects and are widely used in various conditions. Beyond advantageous aspects, there are numerous problems with the chronic use of these agents.

Endocrine Management and Hormone Replacement Therapy in Cardiac Donor Management: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Pituitary dysfunction after brainstem death can cause various hormone deficiencies in potential heart donors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hormone replacement therapy (HRT; including antidiuretic hormone analog, thyroid hormone, and methylprednisolone) in heart donors and the recipients' outcomes after heart transplantation (HTx).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed HTxs performed between January 2012 and October 2018.