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Reliable stratification of the risk of early mortality after postcardiotomy veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A-ECMO) remains elusive. In this study, we externally validated the PC-ECMO score, a specific risk scoring method for prediction of in-hospital mortality after postcardiotomy V-A-ECMO. Overall, 614 patients who required V-A-ECMO after adult cardiac surgery were gathered from an individual patient data meta-analysis of nine studies on this topic. The AUC of the logistic PC-ECMO score in predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.678 (95%CI 0.630-0.726; p  < 0.0001). The AUC of the logistic PC-ECMO score in predicting on V-A-ECMO mortality was 0.652 (95%CI 0.609-0.695; p  < 0.0001). The Brier score of the logistic PC-ECMO score for in-hospital mortality was 0.193, the slope 0.909, the calibration-in-the-large 0.074 and the expected/observed mortality ratio 0.979. 95%CIs of the calibration belt of fit relationship between observed and predicted in-hospital mortality were never above or below the bisector ( p  = 0.072). The present findings suggest that the PC-ECMO score may be a valuable tool in clinical research for stratification of the risk of patients requiring postcardiotomy V-A-ECMO., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Surgical ablation is a well-established therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing cardiac surgery. However, it is not clear if this translates to an improvement in patient important outcomes such as mortality, stroke, and quality of life (QoL). Electronic searches were performed of Ovid Medline and PubMed from their inception to October 2021. Eligible literature included comparative studies with patient undergoing surgical ablative treatment for AF concomitant to any cardiac surgery procedure and patients without specific AF treatment. For this paper, the studies listed are presented descriptively without statistical processing or collection of a meta-analysis. Freedom from AF at 1 year was consistently shown to be improved by surgical ablation. No differences in 30-day mortality or in safety outcomes were observed between the group who received ablation and the control group. A significant increase in pacemaker implantation in the ablation group was generally detected among studies, especially if the lesions were biatrial. Amongst the studies that reported on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) a statistically significant improvement was seen in the ablation group over the control, especially in the physical domains. Surgical ablation is the most effective procedure to treat AF during cardiac surgery, and it is a unique opportunity to return to sinus rhythm with no added mortality risk and a potential improvement in quality of life. There is however an increased risk of pacemaker implantation and complications such as renal failure which must be weighed with tailored treatment and patient selection. It is also not clear how long-term outcomes are affected due to underpowered randomized controlled trials. This review summarized short term outcomes of concomitant AF treatment during cardiac surgery and highlight the importance of reporting long-term outcomes to confirm the benefits., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

The clinical status and prognosis of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has dramatically changed in the recent years. Cardiovascular diseases can be related to combined antiretroviral therapy and to the aging of HIV-positive population, resulting in significant mortality and morbidity in those patients. It is crucial to understand whether the HIV-status affects the indications and outcomes of cardiac surgery. A literature search was conducted through electronic databases up to 15 May 2020 following PRISMA guidelines. Variables (i.e. patients characteristics) and endpoints (i.e. postoperative complications) were considered as defined in the original publications. All paper describing post-operative outcomes after cardiac surgery were included. Methodological quality of all included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the US Preventive Services Task Force grade. A total of eight studies were included in this systematic review; five studies discussed the outcomes of patients with HIV infection, while three studies compared results based on HIV status. All evidences derived from retrospective observational studies with high variability and poor-to-fair quality. Most patients underwent surgical myocardial revascularization. HIV status is not associated with differences in operative mortality ( P = 0.32), postoperative mediastinitis ( P = 0.30) or pulmonary infective complications ( P = 0.67). Cardiac surgery can be considered safe in HIV-positive patients, and HIV status alone should not be considered as a contraindication for cardiac surgery and should not be considered a risk factor for postoperative mortality or perioperative complications. Further studies are required for patients with AIDS., Competing Interests: All authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Dominici and Chello Published by IMR press.)

Objective: The authors aimed to validate the European Multicenter Study on Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (E-CABG) classification of postoperative complications in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)., Design: Retrospective, observational study., Setting: University hospital., Participants: A total of 2,764 patients with severe coronary artery disease. Complete baseline, operative, and postoperative data were available for patients who underwent isolated CABG., Interventions: Isolated CABG., Measurements and Main Results: The E-CABG complication classification was used to stratify the severity and prognostic impact of adverse postoperative events. Primary outcome endpoints were 30-day, 90-day, and long-term all-cause mortality. The secondary outcome endpoints was the length of intensive care unit stay. Both the E-CABG complication grades and additive score were predictive of 30-day (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve 0.866, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.829-0.903; and 0.876; 95% CI 0.844-0.908, respectively) and 90-day (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve 0.850, 95% CI 0.812-0.887; and 0.863, 95% CI 0.829-0.897, respectively) all-cause mortality. The complication grades were independent predictors of increased mortality at actuarial (log-rank: p<0.0001) and adjusted analysis (p<0.0001; grade 1: hazard ratio [HR] 1.757, 95% CI 1.111-2.778; grade 2: HR 2.704, 95% CI 1.664-4.394; grade 3: HR 5.081, 95% CI 3.148-8.201). When patients who died within 30 days were excluded from the analysis, this grading method still was associated with late mortality (p<0.0001). The grading method (p<0.0001) and the additive score (rho, 0.514; p<0.0001) were predictive of the length of intensive care unit stay., Conclusions: The E-CABG postoperative complication classification seems to be a promising tool for stratifying the severity and prognostic impact of postoperative complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a vexing complication of cardiac surgery. Since exposure to contrast agents is a relevant contributing factor in the development of postoperative AKI, the optimal timing between cardiac catheterization and surgery is decisive., Methods: A total of 2504 consecutive nonemergent patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve surgery (with or without concomitant CABG), and proximal aortic procedures were enrolled. AKI was defined by consensus RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of function, End-stage renal disease) criteria. The association of postoperative AKI and time between cardiac catheterization and operation was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression modeling and propensity-matched analysis., Results: Postoperative AKI occurred in 230 (9%) patients. The median number of days from cardiac catheterization to operation was 5 (25th to 75th percentile: 2 to 10). The incidence of AKI was significantly higher in patients operated on ≤1 day after cardiac catheterization compared to those operated on >1 day after (13% vs. 8%, p=0.004). The time interval between cardiac catheterization and surgery (tested both as a continuous and a categorical variable) was not an independent AKI predictor in the propensity-matched population or the pre-matched one. Contrast exposure≤1 day before surgery was independently associated with postoperative AKI in patients undergoing valve surgery with concomitant CABG only (post-matched: OR 3.68, 95%CI 1.30 to 10.39, p=0.014)., Conclusions: Delaying cardiac surgery beyond 24h of exposure to contrast agents seems to be justified only in patients undergoing valve surgery with concomitant CABG., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in as many as 40% of patients after cardiac surgery and requires dialysis in 1% of cases. Acute kidney injury is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity, predisposes patients to a longer hospitalization, requires additional treatments, and increases the hospital costs. Acute kidney injury is characterized by a progressive worsening course, being the consequence of an interplay of different pathophysiologic mechanisms, with patient-related factors and cardiopulmonary bypass as major causes. Recently, several novel biomarkers have emerged, showing reasonable sensitivity and specificity for AKI prediction and protection. The development and implementation of potentially protective therapies for AKI remains essential, especially for the relevant impact of AKI on early and late survival., (Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The optimal time delay between last clopidogrel dose and surgery is controversial. The aim of the present study was to analyze the impact of preoperative clopidogrel on the need for blood transfusions with reference to the proper timing of discontinuation., Methods and Results: Between January 2005 and December 2010, 1,947 consecutive patients undergoing coronary surgery were enrolled. Of these, 255 patients receiving preoperative clopidogrel were matched to a control group by propensity score analysis. Clopidogrel discontinuation interval before surgery was examined in 1-day increments from 0 to 5 days and >5 days. Patients who discontinued clopidogrel within 5 days of surgery accounted for 91% (211/255). Clopidogrel stop within 5 days before surgery was independently associated with transfusion requirement (P=0.001). Preoperative clopidogrel was not associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic complications (P=0.696). No differences were observed between patients taking clopidogrel and those not taking clopidogrel with regard to hospital resource utilization and mortality. Patients receiving clopidogrel in association with aspirin did not have an additive risk for transfusion or hemorrhagic complications compared with those on clopidogrel alone (odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77-2.03; OR, 1.02; 95%CI: 0.38-2.79, respectively)., Conclusions: Clopidogrel administration in the 5 days preceding coronary surgery was an independent predictor for increased transfusion requirements, supporting the discontinuation of clopidogrel >5 days before surgery.