Levosimendan in Patients with Low Cardiac Output Syndrome After Cardiac Surgery: A Substudy of the Multicenter Randomized CHEETAH Trial.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that levosimendan administration in patients with low cardiac output syndrome after cardiac surgery is associated with improved long-term (5-year follow-up) outcomes.

Design: Single-center subanalysis of the multicenter randomized CHEETAH trial.

Setting: Cardiac surgery department of a tertiary hospital.

Calcium administration In patients undergoing CardiAc suRgery under cardiopulmonary bypasS (ICARUS trial): Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a critical step of any cardiac surgical procedure and often requires pharmacologic intervention. Calcium ions are pivotal elements for the excitation-contraction coupling process of cardiac myocytes. Thus, calcium administration might be helpful during weaning from CPB.

Clinical practice recommendations on the management of perioperative cardiac arrest: A report from the PERIOPCA Consortium.

Background: Perioperative cardiac arrest is a rare complication with an incidence of around 1 in 1400 cases, but it carries a high burden of mortality reaching up to 70% at 30 days. Despite its specificities, guidelines for treatment of perioperative cardiac arrest are lacking. Gathering the available literature may improve quality of care and outcome of patients.

Effect of Intraoperative Dexamethasone on Major Complications and Mortality Among Infants Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: The DECISION Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Corticosteroids are widely used in pediatric cardiac surgery to blunt systemic inflammatory response and to reduce complications; nevertheless, their clinical efficacy is uncertain.

Objective: To determine whether intraoperative administration of dexamethasone is more effective than placebo for reducing major complications and mortality during pediatric cardiac surgery.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Intraoperative Dexamethasone in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery was an investigator-initiated, double-blind, multicenter randomized trial that involved 4 centers in China, Brazil, and Russia.

Current Practice of Calcium Use During Cardiopulmonary Bypass Weaning: Results of an International Survey.

Objectives: To describe international practices on the use of calcium salts during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) weaning in adult cardiac surgery patients.

Design: Multiple-choice survey on current practice of CPB weaning.

Setting: Online survey using the SurveyMonkey platform.

Effect of Levosimendan on Renal Outcome in Cardiac Surgery Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Perioperative Cardiovascular Dysfunction: A Substudy of a Multicenter Randomized Trial.

Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs frequently after cardiac surgery. Levosimendan might reduce the incidence of AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The authors investigated whether levosimendan administration could reduce AKI incidence in a high-risk cardiac surgical population.

Levosimendan for Hemodynamic Support after Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Acute left ventricular dysfunction is a major complication of cardiac surgery and is associated with increased mortality. Meta-analyses of small trials suggest that levosimendan may result in a higher rate of survival among patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients in whom perioperative hemodynamic support was indicated after cardiac surgery, according to prespecified criteria.

Evaluation of nutritional screening tools among patients scheduled for heart valve surgery.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to detect the most sensitive nutritional screening tool and to assess its prognostic value with regards to an adverse clinical course in patients with heart valve disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 441 adult patients who were screened using four nutritional screening tools: Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002); Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST); Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA); and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ). Nutritional assessment was performed using a Subjective Global Assessment (SGA).

Prognostic value of nutritional screening tools for patients scheduled for cardiac surgery.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of different nutritional screening tools in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass, with regard to adverse clinical outcome.

Methods: This prospective cohort study analysed 1193 adult patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients were screened using five nutritional screening tools: Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ).

Evaluation of nutritional screening tools for patients scheduled for cardiac surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of different nutritional screening tools in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass with regard to an adverse clinical course.

Methods: This prospective cohort study analyzed 894 adult patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients were screened using four nutritional screening tools: Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002), the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ).

Levosimendan versus an intra-aortic balloon pump in high-risk cardiac patients.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that levosimendan is more effective than intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support in cardiac surgical patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction to decrease cardiac troponin I levels (primary endpoint) and improve hemodynamics.

Design: Prospective randomized trial.

Setting: Tertiary cardiothoracic referral center.

Levosimendan vs. intra-aortic balloon pump in high-risk cardiac surgery.

The purpose of our study was to compare the efficiency of levosimendan and preventive intra-aortic balloon pump in high-risk cardiac patients (left ventricular ejection fraction <35%) operated under cardiopulmonary bypass. In 20 patients, intra-aortic balloon pump was started 16-18 h before surgery; another 20 had a levosimendan infusion starting after induction of anesthesia with an initial bolus of 12 μg·kg(-1) for 10 min, followed by 0.1 μg·kg(-1)·min(-1) for 24 h.

Preoperative total lymphocyte count in peripheral blood as a predictor of poor outcome in adult cardiac surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the preoperative total lymphocyte count in peripheral blood as a predictor of postoperative complications and mortality in cardiac surgery.

Design: A retrospective, observational study.

Setting: The Novosibirsk State Research Institute of Circulation Pathology (single institution).