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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious and common complication of cardiac surgery, for which reduced kidney perfusion is a key contributing factor. Intravenous amino acids increase kidney perfusion and recruit renal functional reserve. However, the efficacy of amino acids in reducing the occurrence of AKI after cardiac surgery is uncertain., Methods: In a multinational, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned adult patients who were scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass to receive an intravenous infusion of either a balanced mixture of amino acids, at a dose of 2 g per kilogram of ideal body weight per day, or placebo (Ringer's solution) for up to 3 days. The primary outcome was the occurrence of AKI, defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes creatinine criteria. Secondary outcomes included the severity of AKI, the use and duration of kidney-replacement therapy, and all-cause 30-day mortality., Results: We recruited 3511 patients at 22 centers in three countries and assigned 1759 patients to the amino acid group and 1752 to the placebo group. AKI occurred in 474 patients (26.9%) in the amino acid group and in 555 (31.7%) in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77 to 0.94; P = 0.002). Stage 3 AKI occurred in 29 patients (1.6%) and 52 patients (3.0%), respectively (relative risk, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.87). Kidney-replacement therapy was used in 24 patients (1.4%) in the amino acid group and in 33 patients (1.9%) in the placebo group. There were no substantial differences between the two groups in other secondary outcomes or in adverse events., Conclusions: Among adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, infusion of amino acids reduced the occurrence of AKI. (Funded by the Italian Ministry of Health; PROTECTION ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03709264.)., (Copyright © 2024 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

Background: Postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequent in cardiac surgery patients. Its pathophysiology is complex and involves decreased renal perfusion. Preliminary clinical evidence in critically ill patients shows that amino acids infusion increases renal blood flow and may decrease the incidence and severity of AKI. We designed a study to evaluate the effectiveness of perioperative continuous infusion of amino acids in decreasing AKI., Methods: This is a phase III, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Adults undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are included. Patients are randomly assigned to receive either continuous infusion of a balanced mixture of amino acids in a dose of 2 g/kg ideal body weight/day or placebo (balanced crystalloid solution) from the operating room up to start of renal replacement therapy (RRT), or ICU discharge, or 72 h after the first dose. The primary outcome is the incidence of AKI during hospital stay defined by KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes). Secondary outcomes include the need for, and duration of, RRT, mechanical ventilation; ICU and hospital length of stay; all-cause mortality at ICU, hospital discharge, 30, 90, and 180 days after randomization; quality of life at 180 days. Data will be analyzed in 3500 patients on an intention-to-treat basis., Discussion: The trial is ongoing and currently recruiting. It will be one of the first randomized controlled studies to assess the relationship between amino acids use and kidney injury in cardiac surgery. If our hypothesis is confirmed, this practice could reduce morbidity in the studied population., Study Registration: This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with the trial identification NCT03709264 in October 2018., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose. Cardiac surgery is characterized by a high risk of complications related to perioperative bleeding. Guidelines suggest the use of local algorithms based on perioperative point-of-care tests to assess and manage potential coagulation abnormalities. We investigated whether heparin reversal administration affects the adenosine-5-diphosphate (ADP) test values, thus identifying the earliest time point following cardio-pulmonary bypass that permits the promptest detection and treatment of potential platelet dysfunctions. Methods. This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study enrolling cardiac surgery patients requiring cardiac bypass. ADP-tests at 4 different time-points during surgery (T0: baseline, T1: at aortic de-clamping, T2: 10 minutes after protamine administration, and T3: at the end of surgery) were performed. Results. 63 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were studied. Baseline ADP-test values were almost constantly greater than intraoperative values, and end of surgery values were often greater than previous intraoperative values. The only difference that proved to be not statistically significant was between T1 and T2, with a clinically insignificant mean difference of -.2 U (95%CI of difference: -6.9 - 6.5 U). There was no correlation between the variation in ADP-test values pre- and post-protamine administration and the protamine-to-heparin ratio. Conclusion. The results of the present study support the hypothesis that the ADP-test could be performed early, at aortic de-clamping before protamine administration. This approach allows for the promptest assessment of a potential impairment in platelet function, and its timely correction.

Background: Assessing diastolic dysfunction is essential and should be part of every routine echocardiography examination. However, clinicians routinely observe lower mitral annular velocities by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) under anesthesia than described by awake transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). It would be important to know whether this difference persists under constant loading conditions. We hypothesized that mean early diastolic mitral annular velocity, measured by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI, JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic1/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff) would be different in the midesophageal 4-chamber (ME 4Ch) than in the apical 4-chamber (AP 4Ch) view under unchanged or constant loading conditions. Secondarily we examined (1) JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic2/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff in an alternative transesophageal view with presumed superior Doppler beam alignment, the deep transgastric view (DTG), compared to those in the AP 4Ch, and (2) early diastolic speckle tracking-based strain rate (JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic3/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff), in the ME 4Ch and in the AP 4Ch., Methods: Twenty-five consecutive adult patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery from February 2017 to July 2017 were included. Both TTE and TEE measurements were obtained under anesthesia in a randomized order in the AP 4Ch, ME 4Ch, and DTG views. Within-patient average values were compared by paired t tests with a Bonferroni adjustment. Box plots, correlation, and agreement by Bland-Altman were examined for all 3 comparisons. A second echocardiographer independently acquired and analyzed images; images were reanalyzed after 4 weeks. Image quality and reproducibility were also reported., Results: Averaged JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic4/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff measurements were lower in the ME 4Ch than in the AP 4Ch (6.6 ± 1.7 cm/s vs 7.0 ± 1.5 cm, P = .028; within-patient difference mean ± standard deviation: 0.6 ± 1.2 cm/s). An alternative TEE view for JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic5/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff, the DTG, also exhibited lower mean values (6.0 ± 1.6 cm/s, P = .006; within-patient difference mean ± standard deviation: 1.1 ± 1.8 cm/s). JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic6/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff strain rate showed a low degree of bias, but greater variability (ME 4Ch: 0.87 ± 0.32%/s vs AP 4Ch: 0.73 ± 0.18%/s, P = .078; within-patient difference mean ± standard deviation: -0.1 ± 0.2%/s)., Conclusions: This study confirms that TEE modestly underestimates JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic7/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff but not to a clinically relevant extent. While JOURNAL/asag/04.03/00000539-202105000-00029/inline-graphic8/v/2021-04-15T211206Z/r/image-tiff in the DTG is not a promising alternative, the future role for speckle tracking-based early diastolic strain rate is unknown., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Objectives: The long-term outcome of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is determined by progressive right ventricular (RV) dysfunction through pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and the risk of malignant arrhythmia. Although mechano-electrical coupling in TOF is well-known, its time effect on the inducibility of arrhythmia remains ill-defined. The goal of this study was to investigate the mechano-electrical properties at different times in animals with chronic PR., Methods: PR was induced by a transannular patch with limited RV scarring in infant pigs. Haemodynamic assessment included biventricular pressure-volume loops after 3 (n = 8) and 6 months (n = 7) compared to controls (n = 5). The electrophysiological study included endocardial monophasic action potential registration, intraventricular conduction velocity and induction of ventricular arrhythmia by burst pacing., Results: Progressive RV dilation was achieved at 6 months (RV end-diastolic volume 143 ± 13 ml/m2-RV end-systolic volume 96 ± 7 ml/m2; P < 0.001), in association with depressed RV contractility (preload recruitable stroke work-slope: 19 ± 1 and 11 ± 3 Mw.ml-1.s-1 for control and 6 m; P < 0.001) and left ventricular contractility (preload recruitable stroke work-slope: 60 ± 13 and 40 ± 11 Mw.ml-1.s-1 for control and 6 m; P = 0.005). Concomitant to QRS prolongation, monophasic action potential90-duration and dispersion at the RV and left ventricle were increased at 6 months. Intraventricular conduction was delayed only in the RV at 6 months (1.8 ± 0.2 and 2.4 ± 0.6 m/s for group 6M and the control group; P = 0.035). Sustained ventricular arrhythmias were not inducible., Conclusions: In animals yielding the sequelae of a contemporary operation for TOF, mechano-electrical alterations are progressive and affect predominantly the RV after midterm exposure of PR. Because ventricular arrhythmias were not inducible despite significant RV dilation, the data suggest that the haemodynamic RV deterioration effectively precedes the risk of inducing sustained arrhythmia after TOF repair and opens a window for renewed stratification of contemporary risk factors of ventricular arrhythmias in patients operated on with currently used pulmonary valve- and RV-related techniques., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

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., Design: Post hoc analysis of a multicenter randomized trial., Setting: Cardiac surgery operating rooms and intensive care units of 14 centers in 3 countries., Participants: The study comprised 90 patients who underwent mitral valve surgery with an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and perioperative myocardial dysfunction., Interventions: Patients were assigned randomly to receive levosimendan (0.025-0.2 μg/kg/min) or placebo in addition to standard inotropic treatment., Measurements and Main Results: Forty-six patients were assigned to receive levosimendan and 44 to receive placebo. Postoperative AKI occurred in 14 (30%) patients in the levosimendan group versus 23 (52%) in the placebo group (absolute difference -21.8; 95% confidence interval -41.7 to -1.97; p = 0.035). The incidence of major complications also was lower (18 [39%]) in the levosimendan group versus that in the placebo group (29 [66%]) (absolute difference -26.8 [-46.7 to -6.90]; p = 0.011). A trend toward lower serum creatinine at intensive care unit discharge was observed in the levosimendan group (1.18 [0.99-1.49] mg/dL) versus that in the placebo group (1.39 [1.05-1.76] mg/dL) (95% confidence interval -0.23 [-0.49 to 0.01]; p = 0.07)., Conclusions: Levosimendan may improve renal outcome in cardiac surgery patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing mitral valve surgery who develop perioperative myocardial dysfunction. Results of this exploratory analysis should be investigated in future properly designed randomized controlled trials., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used with increasing frequency to treat severe cardiac or respiratory failure as it can provide respiratory only or combined circulatory and respiratory support. Despite efforts aimed at increasing its diffusion however, ECMO is currently reserved, usually as last resort, in very severe cases, which are managed almost exclusively in the intensive care unit (ICU). Recent improvements in both technology and patients' management is leading to constant improvement in patients' outcome, especially in centers with a high caseload volume and after ensuring careful patients' selection. Moreover, since short ECMO runs are associated with limited complications, there are now several potential situations outside the ICU and outside the cardiac surgery setting where ECMO is being (or could be) successfully employed to provide cardio-respiratory support, including: high-risk structural heart interventions, ventricular tachycardia ablation, cesarean section, trauma, and, most interestingly, non-cardiac elective procedures in patients at high risk for perioperative cardiac or respiratory complications. Given the increased availability and the good outcomes of ECMO, when carefully employed, we are thus moving towards a future in which no patient should be denied diagnostic or therapeutic procedure exclusively due to high cardiorespiratory risk., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

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. Patients were randomly assigned to receive levosimendan (in a continuous infusion at a dose of 0.025 to 0.2 μg per kilogram of body weight per minute) or placebo, for up to 48 hours or until discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU), in addition to standard care. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality., Results: The trial was stopped for futility after 506 patients were enrolled. A total of 248 patients were assigned to receive levosimendan and 258 to receive placebo. There was no significant difference in 30-day mortality between the levosimendan group and the placebo group (32 patients [12.9%] and 33 patients [12.8%], respectively; absolute risk difference, 0.1 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -5.7 to 5.9; P=0.97). There were no significant differences between the levosimendan group and the placebo group in the durations of mechanical ventilation (median, 19 hours and 21 hours, respectively; median difference, -2 hours; 95% CI, -5 to 1; P=0.48), ICU stay (median, 72 hours and 84 hours, respectively; median difference, -12 hours; 95% CI, -21 to 2; P=0.09), and hospital stay (median, 14 days and 14 days, respectively; median difference, 0 days; 95% CI, -1 to 2; P=0.39). There was no significant difference between the levosimendan group and the placebo group in rates of hypotension or cardiac arrhythmias., Conclusions: In patients who required perioperative hemodynamic support after cardiac surgery, low-dose levosimendan in addition to standard care did not result in lower 30-day mortality than placebo. (Funded by the Italian Ministry of Health; CHEETAH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00994825 .).

Objectives: Methylene blue commonly is used as a dye or an antidote, but also can be used off label as a vasopressor. Serotonin toxicity is a potentially lethal and often misdiagnosed condition that can result from drug interaction. Mild serotonin toxicity previously was reported in settings in which methylene blue was used as a dye. The authors report 3 cases of life-threatening serotonin toxicity in patients undergoing chronic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy who also underwent cardiac surgery and received methylene blue to treat vasoplegic syndrome., Design: An observational study., Setting: A cardiothoracic intensive care unit (ICU) in a teaching hospital., Participants: Three patients who received methylene blue after cardiac surgery, later discovered to be undergoing chronic SSRI therapy., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: All 3 patients received high doses of fentanyl during general anesthesia. They all developed vasoplegic syndrome and consequently were given methylene blue in the ICU. All 3 patients developed serotonin toxicity, including coma, after this administration and diagnostic tests were negative for acute intracranial pathology. Coma lasted between 1 and 5 days. Two patients were discharged from the ICU shortly after awakening, whereas the third patient experienced a complicated postoperative course for concomitant refractory low-cardiac-output syndrome., Conclusions: Patients undergoing chronic SSRI therapy should not be administered methylene blue to treat vasoplegic syndrome., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: No effective pharmaceutical agents have yet been identified to treat acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery., Objective: To determine whether fenoldopam reduces the need for renal replacement therapy in critically ill cardiac surgery patients with acute kidney injury., Design, Setting, and Participants: Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study from March 2008 to April 2013 in 19 cardiovascular intensive care units in Italy. We randomly assigned 667 patients admitted to intensive care units after cardiac surgery with early acute kidney injury (≥50% increase of serum creatinine level from baseline or oliguria for ≥6 hours) to receive fenoldopam (338 patients) or placebo (329 patients). We used a computer-generated permuted block randomization sequence for treatment allocation. All patients completed their follow-up 30 days after surgery, and data were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle., Interventions: Continuous infusion of fenoldopam or placebo for up to 4 days with a starting dose of 0.1 μg/kg/min (range, 0.025-0.3 µg/kg/min)., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was the rate of renal replacement therapy. Secondary end points included mortality (intensive care unit and 30-day mortality) and the rate of hypotension during study drug infusion., Results: The study was stopped for futility as recommended by the safety committee after a planned interim analysis. Sixty-nine of 338 patients (20%) allocated to the fenoldopam group and 60 of 329 patients (18%) allocated to the placebo group received renal replacement therapy (P = .47). Mortality at 30 days was 78 of 338 (23%) in the fenoldopam group and 74 of 329 (22%) in the placebo group (P = .86). Hypotension occurred in 85 (26%) patients in the fenoldopam group and in 49 (15%) patients in the placebo group (P = .001)., Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, fenoldopam infusion, compared with placebo, did not reduce the need for renal replacement therapy or risk of 30-day mortality but was associated with an increased rate of hypotension., Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00621790.

Objectives: The age for correction of tetralogy of Fallot has progressively declined to the postnatal period, often despite an increased rate of transannular patch repair. However, the long-term effect of premature exposure to chronic pulmonary insufficiency on the right ventricle remains unknown. On the basis of the relationship between the duration of pressure overload and age, the role of previous pressure load-related hypertrophy on right ventricular (RV) performance after chronic volume overload was investigated in a porcine model., Methods: RV hypertrophy (RVH), induced by pulmonary artery banding, was studied in pigs with (RVH plus pulmonary insufficiency [PI]) and without (RVH) subsequent PI. The effect of volume overload was compared between these 2 groups and pigs without RVH but with PI and controls (sham). Both acute and chronic effects on RV function were studied using conductance technology and validated using echocardiography., Results: After chronic volume overload, the end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes were smaller in the RVH+PI group than in the PI group, including a lower pulmonary regurgitation fraction (25% ± 5% vs 35% ± 5%; P = .002). RVH resulted in better preserved systolic function, confirmed by an increased preload recruitable stroke work slope (14.7 ± 1.8 vs 9.3 ± 1.3 Mw.s/mL; P = .025) and higher RV ejection fraction (51% ± 3% vs 45% ± 4%; P = .05). Myocardial stiffness was impaired in the RVH+PI group versus the PI group (β, 0.19 ± 0.03 vs 0.12 ± 0.02 mL(-1); P = .001), presenting restrictive physiology only in the condition associating RVH and PI., Conclusions: The results of the present study have demonstrated that RVH attenuates the RV remodeling process related to chronic PI. It enables better preservation of contractility but at the cost of sustained diastolic impairment. These findings might help to determine the timing and strategy for repair of tetralogy of Fallot when RV outflow tract morphology indicates a definite need for transannular reconstruction., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the ability of early urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin to predict postoperative complications in adult patients with ventricular dysfunction undergoing cardiac surgery., Design: Prospective observational study., Setting: Single-center study, university hospital., Participants: Fifty-six adult high-risk cardiac surgical patients with preoperative cardiac failure., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin was measured at baseline and at several time points after surgery. Patient characteristics and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels were related to renal and patient outcome. On multivariate analyses, preoperative urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin was an independent predictor of length of intensive care stay (p = 0.004) and in-hospital stay (p = 0.04), but not of acute kidney injury or renal replacement therapy and was not associated with baseline renal function., Conclusions: In a cohort of high-risk cardiac surgery patients, preoperative urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin value provided prognostic information that was independent of the onset of acute kidney injury or of preoperative renal function., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Because at present no pharmacologic prevention or treatment of acute kidney injury seems to be available, the authors updated a meta-analysis to investigate the effects of fenoldopam in reducing acute kidney injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, focusing on randomized placebo-controlled studies only., Design: A meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials., Setting: Hospitals., Participants: A total of 440 patients from 6 studies were included in the analysis., Interventions: None. The ability of fenoldopam to reduce acute kidney injury in the perioperative period when compared with placebo was investigated., Measurements and Main Results: Google Scholar and PubMed were searched (updated January 1, 2012). Authors and external experts were contacted. Pooled estimates showed that fenoldopam consistently and significantly reduced the risk of acute kidney injury (odds ratio [OR] = 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.74; p = 0.003), with a higher rate of hypotensive episodes and/or use of vasopressors (30/109 [27.5%] v 21/112 [18.8%]; OR = 2.09; 95% CI, 0.98-4.47; p = 0.06) and no effect on renal replacement therapy, survival, and length of intensive care unit or hospital stay., Conclusions: This analysis suggests that fenoldopam reduces acute kidney injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Because the number of the enrolled patients was small and there was no effect on renal replacement therapy or survival, a large, multicenter, and appropriately powered trial is needed to confirm these promising results., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Numerous strategies have been evaluated to prevent early CSA-AKI. Although correction of hemodynamic problems is paramount, there are no clinical studies that compare different hemodynamic management or monitoring strategies with regard to their effect on kidney function. Pharmacologic strategies including diuretics, different classes of vasodilators and drugs with anti-inflammatory effects such as N-acetyl-cysteine, do not appear to be effective. Most of the studies are underpowered and use physiological rather than clinical endpoints. Further trials are warranted with fenoldopam and nesiritide (rhBNP). Observational and underpowered randomized studies show beneficial renal effects of off-pump technique and avoidance of aortic manipulation. There is very limited evidence for preoperative fluid loading and preemptive RRT. Potentially nephrotoxic agents should be used with caution in patients at risk of CSA-AKI. Tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid should be preferred over aprotinin. No pharmacologic intervention has been adequately tested in the prevention of late CSA-AKI. A singlecenter study, including a predominance of patients after cardiac surgery, showed a decrease of kidney injury with tight glycemic control.

Objective: Acute renal failure is a common and threatening complication in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. To determine the efficacy of fenoldopam in the prevention of acute renal failure, the authors performed a systematic review of randomized, controlled trials and propensity-matched studies in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery., Design: Meta-analysis., Setting: Hospitals., Participants: A total of 1,059 patients from 13 randomized and case-matched studies were included in the analysis., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: Google Scholar, PubMed, and scientific sessions were searched (updated November 2006). Authors and external experts were contacted. Four unblinded reviewers selected controlled trials that used fenoldopam in the prevention or treatment of acute renal failure in cardiovascular surgery. Four reviewers independently abstracted patient data, treatment characteristics, and outcomes. Pooled estimates showed that fenoldopam consistently and significantly reduced the need for renal replacement therapy (odds ratio = 0.37 [0.23-0.59], p < 0.001) and in-hospital death (odds ratio = 0.46 [0.29-0.75], p = 0.01). These benefits were associated with shorter intensive care unit stay (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -0.93 days [-1.27; -0.58], p = 0.002). Sensitivity analyses, tests for small study bias, and heterogeneity assessment further confirmed the main analysis., Conclusions: This meta-analysis provides evidence that fenoldopam may confer significant benefits in preventing renal replacement therapy and reducing mortality in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus is a growing problem in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus isolates in a cardiac surgical ICU over a 5-year period and to determine the risk factors and outcome of this condition., Methods: During the period from January 1998 to July 2003, the clinical data of all adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery in a university hospital were prospectively recorded in a database; the perioperative clinical variables and microbiologic data were studied by means of univariate and multivariate analysis in order to identify risk factors for the development of methicillin resistance and in-hospital death., Results: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species strains were isolated in 118 of 6,423 patients operated on during the study period (7.6 cases per 1,000 days of ICU stay), with a constant prevalence rate throughout the years. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species have been the most frequently isolated microorganisms in the authors' ICU; 75% of Staphylococcus aureus and 95% of coagulase-negative staphylococci were methicillin resistant. In-hospital mortality in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus-positive patients was 50.0% (59/118), whereas it was 1.7% (108/6305) in other patients (p < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species isolation was the single risk factor with the strongest association with in-hospital death (odds ratio, 8.5; 95% confidence interval 4.9-14.7). In the present series, there were no isolates of vancomycin-resistant species (Enterococcus species or Staphylococcus species)., Conclusions: Staphylococcus species represent the most frequently isolated microorganisms in the authors' ICU. In-hospital mortality in cardiac surgical patients is strongly correlated to the isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus.

Background: Acute renal failure is a serious complication of cardiac surgery causing high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of fenoldopam, a specific agonist of the dopamine-1 receptor, in patients at high risk of perioperative renal dysfunction., Methods and Results: A prospective single-center, randomized, double-blind trial was performed after local ethical committee approval and after written consent was obtained from 80 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Patients received either fenoldopam at 0.05 microg/kg per minute or dopamine at 2.5 microg/kg per minute after the induction of anesthesia for a 24-hour period. All these patients were at high risk of perioperative renal dysfunction as indicated by Continuous Improvement in Cardiac Surgery Program score >10. Primary end point was defined as 25% creatinine increase from baseline levels after cardiac surgery. The 2 groups (fenoldopam versus dopamine) were homogeneous cohorts, and no difference in outcome was observed. Acute renal failure was similar: 17 of 40 (42.5%) in the fenoldopam group and 16 of 40 (40%) in the dopamine group (P=0.9). Peak postoperative serum creatinine level, intensive care unit and hospital stay, and mortality were also similar in the 2 groups., Conclusions: Despite an increasing number of reports of renal protective properties from fenoldopam, we observed no difference in the clinical outcome compared with dopamine in a high-risk population undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Acute renal failure requiring replacement therapy occurs in 1% to 2% of patients who have undergone cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and is associated with a very high mortality rate. The aim of this study was to determine if prophylactic treatment with fenoldopam mesylate of patients at high risk of postoperative acute renal failure reduced the incidence of this event., Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, cohort study in which 108 patients at high risk of postoperative acute renal failure and undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were treated with fenoldopam mesylate (0.08 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) starting at the induction of anesthesia and throughout at least the next 24 hours. A homogeneous control group of 108 patients was created using a propensity-score analysis., Results: Fenoldopam prophylaxis was significantly associated with a reduction in acute renal failure incidence (from 22% to 11%, p = 0.028), a less pronounced creatinine clearance decrease (p = 0.05), and a lower mortality rate (6.5% versus 15.7%, p = 0.03) by the univariate analysis, but these results were not confirmed by a multivariable analysis. Within the subgroup of patients who suffered a postoperative low output syndrome, fenoldopam prophylaxis was an independent protective factor for postoperative renal failure (odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.7; p = 0.017)., Conclusions: Given the limitations of a nonrandomized prospective trial, our results support the hypothesis that fenoldopam may reduce the risk of acute renal failure in patients in whom endogenous and exogenous cathecolamines action may induce a renal vascular constrictive condition.

Aim: The number of cardiac operations in octogenarians is steadily increasing. A review of personal 4 years' experience is made in order to identify which variables are associated to a poor prognosis in this high risk population., Methods: Perioperative variables and short-term outcome of 109 consecutive octogenarians were prospectively collected in a database. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify preoperative risk factors for prolonged mechanical ventilation and ICU stay., Results: The 109 octogenarians represented 1.8% of the 4 940 cardiac operations performed at our University Teaching Hospital in the period January 1998-June 2001: 94 patients had comorbidities (86%); 46 underwent valve surgery (42%), 38 had coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (36%), and combined procedures or aortic arch replacement were performed in 25 patients (22%). Two patients died (1.8%). Postoperative complications included: myocardial infarction (10 patients, 9%), stroke (6 patients, 5%), renal replacement therapy (1 patient, 1%). Sixty nine patients (63%) had an uneventful perioperative period (63%). On a multivariate analysis, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time was associated with prolonged intubation and ICU stay; mitral pathology predicted prolonged intubation while previous cardiac surgery was associated with prolonged ICU stay., Conclusion: The 109 octogenarians studied had an excellent course in the immediate postoperative period. Therefore, on the basis of personal experience cardiac surgery could be safely performed in octogenarians.

Objective: To evaluate outcome and risk factors of acute renal failure in a surgical population with or without preoperative renal dysfunction., Design: Observational study., Setting: Intensive care unit at a University Hospital., Participants: Five thousand sixty-eight consecutive adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass., Interventions: Perioperative variables measured were age, sex, basic pathology, preoperative renal impairment defined as creatinine >1.4 mg/dL, ventricular dysfunction, preoperative neurologic event, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, type of surgery, use of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) duration, redo or emergency surgery, hemorrhage, blood transfusion, surgical revisions, and postoperative complications., Measurements and Main Results: Acute renal failure (100% creatinine increase) developed in 171 (3.4%) patients, whereas 94 patients (1.9% of the population) had renal replacement therapy. Hospital mortality was 40.9% in patients with acute renal failure and increased to 63.8% when renal replacement therapy was requested. Sex, age, emergency surgery, low ejection fraction, IABP device, redo, diabetes, mitral valve surgery, CPB duration, and preoperative renal disease were independently associated with acute renal failure at a multivariate analysis., Conclusion: This study confirms that acute renal failure is one of the major complications of cardiac surgery, identifies the risk factors, and suggests that optimizing cardiac output and reducing CPB time could improve the outcome of patients at high risk of acute renal failure.

Objective: The appearance of new Q waves on the electrocardiogram (ECG) after cardiac surgery has been traditionally considered a sign of major myocardial tissue damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of new Q waves appearing following cardiac surgery and to correlate them with the release of myocardial cell damage biomarkers., Methods: 206 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery were prospectively evaluated. A 12 lead ECG was recorded and cardiac troponin I and creatinekinase subfraction MB assayed the day before surgery, on arrival at the intensive care Unit. 4 and 18 h postoperatively and every morning until the fifth postoperative day., Results: The incidence of new Q waves was 7.3%. Patients with isolated ECG findings had an uneventful postoperative course; on the contrary, when ECG changes were coupled with the release of myocardial necrosis biomarkers, patients had a complicated postoperative course., Conclusions: The association of a new Q wave and high levels of myocardial necrosis biomarkers is strongly associated with postoperative cardiac events. On the contrary, the isolated appearance of a new Q wave has no impact on the postoperative cardiac outcome.