Perioperative troponin surveillance in major noncardiac surgery: a narrative review.

Myocardial injury is now an acknowledged complication in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Heterogeneity in the definitions of myocardial injury contributes to difficulty in evaluating the value of cardiac troponins (cTns) measurement in perioperative care. Pre-, post-, and peri-operatively increased cTns are encompassed by the umbrella term 'myocardial injury' and are likely to reflect different pathophysiological mechanisms.

Comparison of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and T for the prediction of cardiac complications after non-cardiac surgery.

Background: We aimed to directly compare preoperative high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) I and T concentration for the prediction of major cardiac complications after non-cardiac surgery.

Methods: We measured hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT preoperatively in a blinded fashion in 1022 patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. The primary endpoint was a composite of major cardiac complications including cardiac death, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, clinically relevant arrhythmias, and acute heart failure within 30 days.

Prediction of major cardiac events after vascular surgery.

Objective: Predicting cardiac events is essential to provide patients with the best medical care and to assess the risk-benefit ratio of surgical procedures. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of the Revised Cardiac Risk Index (Lee) and the Vascular Study Group of New England Cardiac Risk Index (VSG) scores for the prediction of major cardiac events in unselected patients undergoing arterial surgery and to determine whether the inclusion of additional risk factors improved their accuracy.

Methods: The study prospectively enrolled 954 consecutive patients undergoing arterial vascular surgery, and the Lee and VSG scores were calculated.

Perioperative myocardial infarction/injury after noncardiac surgery.

Cardiovascular complications, particularly perioperative myocardial infarction/injury, seem to be major contributors to mortality after noncardiac surgery. With surgical procedures being very frequent (900 000/year in Switzerland), perioperative myocardial injury is common in everyday clinical practice. Over 80% of patients experiencing perioperative myocardial injury do not report symptoms.

N-terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptides' Prognostic Utility Is Overestimated in Meta-analyses Using Study-specific Optimal Diagnostic Thresholds.

Background: N-terminal fragment B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) prognostic utility is commonly determined post hoc by identifying a single optimal discrimination threshold tailored to the individual study population. The authors aimed to determine how using these study-specific post hoc thresholds impacts meta-analysis results.

Methods: The authors conducted a systematic review of studies reporting the ability of preoperative NT-proBNP measurements to predict the composite outcome of all-cause mortality and nonfatal myocardial infarction at 30 days after noncardiac surgery.

B-type natriuretic peptide secretion without change in intra-cardiac pressure.

Objective: In clinical cardiology, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is used as a non-invasive surrogate marker for intra-cardiac filling pressures, particularly in patients with heart failure. It is unknown whether and to what extent increase in intravascular volume and/or sympathetic tone while maintaining constant intra-cardiac pressures leads to an increase in levels of BNP in vivo.

Design And Methods: We aimed to test this hypothesis in an experimental in vivo model of patients directly after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting admitted to the intensive care unit.

Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery: a large, international, prospective cohort study establishing diagnostic criteria, characteristics, predictors, and 30-day outcomes.

Background: Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) was defined as prognostically relevant myocardial injury due to ischemia that occurs during or within 30 days after noncardiac surgery. The study's four objectives were to determine the diagnostic criteria, characteristics, predictors, and 30-day outcomes of MINS.

Methods: In this international, prospective cohort study of 15,065 patients aged 45 yr or older who underwent in-patient noncardiac surgery, troponin T was measured during the first 3 postoperative days.