Publications by authors named "Christie Aguiar"
Background: While fast track clinical pathways have been demonstrated to reduce resource utilization in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, it remains unclear as to whether they adversely affect post-operative outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of fast tracking on post-operative outcomes following cardiac surgery.
Methods: In a retrospective study, all patients undergoing first-time, on-pump, non-emergent coronary artery bypass grafting, valve, or coronary artery bypass grafting + valve at a single centre between 2010 and 2017 were included.
Article Synopsis
- Predicting post-operative complications in obese cardiac surgery patients is complicated due to long-term metabolic issues linked to obesity, particularly involving branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).
- The study examines whether changes in BCAA metabolism can be used as predictors for adverse outcomes in these patients, analyzing blood and tissue samples from various BMI categories.
- Findings reveal that while intramyocellular BCAAs rise with BMI, there's decreased activity of BCAA catabolic enzymes in the adipose tissue of severely obese individuals, indicating a connection between BCAA metabolism, metabolic dysfunction, and recovery after surgery.
Obesity is a risk factor that negatively impacts outcomes in patients undergoing heart surgery by mechanisms that are not well-defined nor predicated on BMI alone. This knowledge gap has fuelled a search for biomarkers associated with cardiovascular diseases that could provide clinical insight to surgeons. One such biomarker is growth differentiation factor15(GDF15), associated with inflammation, metabolism, and heart failure outcomes but not yet examined in the context of obesity and cardiac surgery outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The objectives of the study were to characterize and quantify cellular inflammation and structural remodeling of human atria and correlate findings with molecular markers of inflammation and patient surrogate outcome.
Methods: Voluntary participants undergoing heart surgery were enrolled in the study and blood samples were collected prior to surgery, and right atrium samples were harvested intraoperatively. Blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry and complete blood counts.
Introduction: Increasing levels of obesity worldwide have led to a rise in the prevalence of obesity-related complications including cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. Healthcare providers believe that overweight and obese cardiac surgery patients are more likely to experience adverse postoperative outcomes. The body mass index (BMI) is the primary measure of obesity in clinical practice, without accounting for a patient's level of cardiopulmonary fitness or muscle mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor signaling has been implicated in cardiovascular and obesity-related metabolic disease. However, the distribution and regulation of LPA receptors in the myocardium and adipose tissue remain unclear.
Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the mRNA expression of LPA receptors (LPA1-6) in the murine and human myocardium and adipose tissue, and its regulation in response to obesity.
Background: Much has been published about the effect of obesity on adverse outcomes after cardiac operations, yet little is known regarding the effect of obesity on intensive care unit (ICU) resource utilization. This study examined the effect of obesity on ICU resource utilization after cardiac operations.
Methods: All patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 18.