Mortality Predictors and Neurological Outcomes Following Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (eCPR): A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) offers cardiorespiratory support to patients experiencing cardiac arrest. However, this technology is not yet considered a standard treatment, and the evidence on eCPR criteria and its association with survival and good neurological outcomes remains scarce. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the overall mortality and risk factors for mortality.

The Impact of Preoperative Combined Pectoserratus and/or Interpectoral Plane (Pectoralis Type II) Blocks on Opioid Consumption, Pain, and Overall Benefit of Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, and Triple-blinded Trial.

Objective: Acute postoperative pain remains a major obstacle in minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS). Evidence of the analgesic benefit of chest wall blocks is limited. This study was designed to assess the influence of combined pectoserratus plane block plus interpectoral plane block (PSPB + IPPB) on postoperative pain and the overall benefit of analgesia compared with placebo.

Loss or Dilution-A New Diagnostic Method to Assess the Impact of Dilution on Standard Laboratory Parameters.

Intraoperative fluid therapy is regularly used in patients undergoing cardiac surgery procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Although fluid administration has several advantages, it unavoidably leads to hemodilution. The hemodilution may further influence the interpretation of concentration-based laboratory parameters like hemoglobin (Hgb), platelet count (PLT) or prothrombin time (PT).

Hemorrhagic Shock: Blood Marker Sequencing and Pulmonary Gas Exchange.

Background: The early identification of internal hemorrhage in critically ill patients may be difficult. Besides circulatory parameters, hemoglobin and lactate concentration, metabolic acidosis and hyperglycemia serve as laboratory markers for bleeding. In this experiment, we examined pulmonary gas exchange in a porcine model of hemorrhagic shock.

The Pulmonary Artery Catheter in the Perioperative Setting: Should It Still Be Used?

The pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) was introduced into clinical practice in the 1970s and was initially used to monitor patients with acute myocardial infarctions. The indications for using the PAC quickly expanded to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit as well as in the perioperative setting in patients undergoing major cardiac and noncardiac surgery. The utilization of the PAC is surrounded by multiple controversies, with literature claiming its benefits in the perioperative setting, and other publications showing no benefit.

Anesthesia-Induced Oxidative Stress: Are There Differences between Intravenous and Inhaled Anesthetics?

Agents used for the induction of anesthesia have been shown to either promote or mitigate oxidative stress. A fine balance between the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants is crucial for the proper normal functioning of the cell. A basal concentration of ROS is essential for the manifestation of cellular functions, whereas disproportionate levels of ROS cause damage to cellular macromolecules such as DNA, lipids, and proteins, eventually leading to necrosis and apoptosis.

Administration of fibrinogen concentrate combined with prothrombin complex maintains hemostasis in children undergoing congenital heart repair (a long-term propensity score-matched study).

Background: Bleeding is a common problem in children with congenital heart disease undergoing major cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Little is known about optimal management with blood products.

Objective: To investigate clinical outcome and hemostatic effects of fibrinogen concentrate (FC) in combination with prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) versus standard treatment with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in children undergoing cardiac surgery.

Cardiac output and cerebral blood flow during carotid surgery in regional versus general anesthesia: A prospective randomized controlled study.

Objective: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a preventive procedure aimed at decreasing the subsequent risk of fatal or disabling stroke in patients with significant carotid stenosis. It is well-known that carotid surgery under ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (US-RA) causes a significant increase in blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormone levels owing to increased sympathetic activity. However, little is known about the effects on cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), and cerebral blood flow (CBF) under US-RA as compared with general anesthesia (GA).

Guided vs. non-guided insertion of Ambu AuraGain™ in edentulous patients.

Background: Supraglottic airway devices perform more poorly and have lower oropharyngeal leak pressure in edentulous patients than in patients with teeth. The Ambu Aura Gain is a newer second generation supraglottic airway device.

Objective: This randomized clinical trial assessed the oropharyngeal leak pressure in edentulous patients using the Ambu Aura Gain with a gastric tube for insertion guidance and without insertion guidance.

Prolonged extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for pediatric necrotizing pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumonia and influenza H1N1 co-infection: how long should we wait for native lung recovery?

Most children with severe respiratory failure require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for 7-10 days. However, some may need prolonged duration ECMO (> 14 days). To date, no consensus exists on how long to wait for native lung recovery.

Fibrinogen supplementation ex vivo increasesclot firmness comparable to platelet transfusion in thrombocytopenia.

Background: Fibrinogen concentrate can improve clot firmness and offers a better safety profile than platelet concentrates. Reduction or avoidance of blood transfusions represents a strategy to reduce associated risks. We investigated whether supplementation of fibrinogen concentrate ex vivo can compensate for clot strength as compared with platelet transfusion in vivo METHODS: One hundred patients in need of platelet transfusion (PT) were enrolled.

Predicting Transfusion Requirements During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Objective: Patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have a well-known bleeding risk and the potential for experiencing possibly fatal thromboembolic complications. Risk factors and predictors of transfusion requirements during ECMO support remain uncertain. The authors hypothesized that compromised organ function immediately before ECMO support will influence transfusion requirements.

A Snapshot of Coagulopathy After Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is often associated with important blood loss, allogeneic blood product usage, morbidity, and mortality. Coagulopathy during CPB is complex, and the current lack of uniformity for triggers and hemostatic agents has led to a wide variability in bleeding treatment. The aim of this review is to provide a simplified picture of the data available on patients' coagulation status at the end of CPB in order to provide relevant information for the development of tailored transfusion algorithms.

Functional Recovery of a Human Neonatal Heart After Severe Myocardial Infarction.

Rationale: Cardiac remodeling and subsequent heart failure remain critical issues after myocardial infarction despite improved treatment and reperfusion strategies. Recently, cardiac regeneration has been demonstrated in fish and newborn mice after apex resection or cardiac infarctions. Two key issues remain to translate findings in model organisms to future therapies in humans: what is the mechanism and can cardiac regeneration indeed occur in newborn humans?

Objective: To assess whether human neonatal hearts can functionally recover after myocardial infarction.

Intracardiac echocardiography for guidance of transcatheter aortic valve implantation under monitored sedation: a solution to a dilemma?

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been established as a valuable alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in patients deemed to have high or prohibitive perioperative risk. However, there are several technical constraints and procedural risks inherent to TAVI. These risks include annulus rupture, ventricular perforation, aortic dissection, coronary occlusion, and dislodgement or migration of the valve prosthesis to the aorta or the left ventricle (LV).

Intracardiac Doppler Echocardiography for Monitoring of Pulmonary Artery Pressures in High-Risk Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Uncontrolled pulmonary hypertension may cause worse outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), while hemodynamic monitoring is desirable for risk control. Pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) readings obtained by intracardiac Doppler echocardiography were evaluated.

Methods: In 114 patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis and median Society of Thoracic Surgeons scores of 10.

[Perioperative transesophageal echocardiography in non-cardiac surgery. Update].

Aim: The aim of this article is to impart knowledge concerning focused transesophageal echocardiographic examination (TEE) for non-cardiac surgery which is an essential part of perioperative monitoring. It allows a rapid echocardiographic examination without interference with the surgical field or under limited transthoracic examination conditions. New recommendations for a comprehensive perioperative TEE examination with expanded standard views and the recently published consensus statement for a shortened baseline examination were crucial for this study.

Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia for carotid endarterectomy induces early hemodynamic and stress hormone changes.

Objective: Locoregional anesthesia is an effective method for evaluating cerebral function during carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Landmark-guided regional anesthesia (RA) is currently used for CEA and can provoke substantial perioperative hypertension. Ultrasound-guided RA (US-RA) is a new method for performing RA in CEA; however, the effect on sympathetic activity and blood pressure is uncertain.

[Near-infrared spectroscopy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and mechanical circulatory support: From the operating room to the intensive care unit].

Background: Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) allows continuous measurement of cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO2). It is a weighted saturation value derived from approximately 70-75 % venous, 20-25 % arterial and 2.5-5 % capillary blood.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation induces short-term loss of high-molecular-weight von Willebrand factor multimers.

Background: High-molecular-weight (HMW) von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimers are crucial for primary hemostasis. Increased shear stress from ventricular assist devices can provoke premature degradation of HMW vWF multimers. Whether similar loss of vWF multimers occurs during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is not clear.

Results of rotational thromboelastometry, coagulation activation markers and thrombin generation assays in orthopedic patients during thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban and enoxaparin: a prospective cohort study.

Background: A prospective observational study was conducted in two clinical cohorts of patients to compare the effect of enoxaparin and rivaroxaban on rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), coagulation activation markers and thrombin generation.

Methods: A total of 188 consecutive patients scheduled for major orthopedic surgery receiving 40-mg enoxaparin subcutaneously or 10-mg rivaroxaban orally were evaluated. Blood samples were taken before induction of anesthesia and on day 4 after surgery [postoperative day 4 (pod 4)].

Heart Transplantation in a 14-Year-Old Boy in the Presence of Severe Out-of-Proportion Pulmonary Hypertension due to Restrictive Left Heart Disease: A Case Report.

A 14-year-old boy after balloon valvuloplasty of severe aortic valve stenosis in the neonatal period was referred for heart-lung transplantation because of high grade pulmonary hypertension and left heart dysfunction due to endocardial fibroelastosis with severe mitral insufficiency. After heart catheterization, hemodynamic parameters were invasively monitored: a course of levosimendan and initiation of diuretics led to a decrease of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (from maximum 35 to 24 mmHg). Instead of an expected decrease, mean pulmonary artery pressures (mPAP) increased up to 80 mmHg with increasing transpulmonary pressure gradient (TPG) up to 55 mmHg.