Clinical Research Directory

The Association Between Tau & GFAP and Postoperative Neurological Impairment in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Patients born with heart defects often undergo surgical procedures on a heart lung machine. With improvements in medical and surgical management, their survival has significantly improved, but their brain insult has not been paid much attention. This study is to determine the relationship between specific proteins in the blood and brain injury in patients less than 18-year-old undergoing heart surgery.

SIRAKI 02 Posthoc Analysis.

Our randomized controlled trial with 343 patients requiring non emergent cardiac surgery with a prolonged expected cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time (\>90 minutes) demonstrated that the use of an extracorporeal blood purification (EBP) device (oXiris) connected to the CPB circuit during all surgery was associated with a decrease in the incidence of CSA-AKI within the first 7 days from surgery (nearly 12% reduction). The study was conducted in two university centres of the Barcelona metropolitan area between 2016 and 2022, randomising 343 patients (1:1) to receive either an EBP device connected to the CPB circuit or a standard strategy with CPB alone. First of all the rate of acute kidney disease (AKD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the sutdy population has not been reported and we will analyse if there were differences between groups as other studies have suggested with different interventions. Concerning the intervention safety, no differences were observed in terms of intraoperative blood products (red blood cells, plasma and platelets) requirements between both groups. In order to improve knowledge about the safety of the technique it is very important to ensure that antibiotics levels in plasma during the time the adsorption device is connected to CPB, are not being modified by the intervention. Antibiotic prophylaxis during cardiac surgery is one of the cornerstones and has proved to effectively reduce perioperative infection especially concerning valve replacement procedures. In this sense, our two centres use the same strategy with cephalosporins (Cefazolin in Germans Trias Hospital and Cefuroxime in Bellvitge Hospital) with an early administration at the operating room (OR) before connecting patient to CPB and a late dose after removing CPB (3 hours after the first dose). We know from previous reports that the use of antibiotics during CRRT with oXiris is safe and normally does not require dose adjustments although no reports have been made of its use connected to CPB and antibiotics dosing. Completing the safety issues, heparin and protamine doses during surgery have been registered in the patient's electronic history and should be checked and transferred to a database that allows to adequately analyse potential differences between groups. Other studies performed in cardiac surgery with adsorption devices have reported safety issues with platelets consumption and heparin requirements during surgery. In our protocol, heparin was administered prior to CPB initiation either based on the patient's weight or using hemostasis management system (HMS) plus technology in order to minimise overdosing. Heparin was administered during all CPB time in order to maintain activated clotting time (ACT) over 500 seconds and based on HMS plus technology. Protamine for heparin reversal at CPB withdrawal was administered using both methods too. Protamine administration can be associated with hypotensive episodes. In our study, the decrease in CSA-AKI within the first 7 days from surgery achieved with the use of EBP connected to the CPB was more significant in CKD, DM, Low LVEF, Hypertension and non-obese patients. Whether this effect can be partially explained by the mild cytokines concentration differences observed in IL-8 and TNF-a at T1 (after removing clamp from surgery) and T2 (at ICU admission) has still not been evaluated. This reduction of inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) during CPB time that could be related with the use of adsorption devices, should be also translated into a decrease of catecholamines and probably insulin requirements during surgery. A noteworthy point to consider is that although the use of propofol has been extended in cardiac surgery, little is known about the potential antiinflammatory effect it may have in patients. It is important to identify those patients who received propofol to control this potential bias in terms of antiinflammatory effect. Besides this objective it is also very important to ensure that no adsorption of propofol took place with the use of EBP, as previous studies have reported higher requirements of sedation drugs with the use of CRRT or other devices with adsorption properties. Finally, nearly 25% of the patients in the EBP group received ultrafiltration with doses that vary from 200 mL up to 3000 mL. We know from previous trials that ultrafiltration is clearly related with the removal of middle weight molecules which is presumably beneficial for patients with SIRS but that in specific scenarios this effect could be even detrimental for some patients. Whether the ultrafiltration performed in our study may have an effect in antibiotics, heparin, protamine, catecholamines, insulin or even propofol should be elucidated in order to settle the idoneous modality in which EBP should be performed when connected to CPB during cardiac surgery. All these outcomes will be assessed controled by gender and age.

A Comparison of Renal vs Limb NIRS for Predicting Cardiac Surgery Associated Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complication of cardiac surgery that can affect outcome. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is a technology that uses light to determine how well oxygenated tissues are. This technology is routinely used in cardiac surgery to measure the oxygen level in the brain by placing a sensor sticker on the forehead. The purpose of the study is to determine whether NIRS sensor stickers placed on the skin over the kidney can predict AKI better than when sensors are placed on the skin over the participant's limbs. This study is being conducted by investigators from the department of anesthesiology at the University of Utah.

Oxygen Consumption, Hypoperfusion and Organ Injury After Cardio-pulmonary Bypass

The goal of this observational study is to understand how oxygen consumption after heart surgery relates to blood flow problems and organ injury. The study focuses on patients over 18 years old who are having planned heart surgery with a heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass). The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. How does oxygen consumption in the early hours after surgery relate to lactate levels (a sign of low oxygen supply to the tissues)? 2. How is oxygen consumption linked to signs of poor blood flow and organ injury (such as heart, kidney, liver, brain, and gut damage)? Researchers will measure oxygen consumption after surgery using a technique called indirect calorimetry. They will also track blood flow and oxygen use during surgery and check for signs of organ injury the day after the procedure. The study will include 65 participants. People with certain health conditions, like severe anemia, high lactate levels before surgery, or needing intensive care or extra oxygen supply before surgery, will not be included. By understanding how oxygen consumption relates to blood flow and organ injury, this research may help to better manage patients after heart surgery and reduce complications.

Relationship of Point-of-care Coagulation Assays with Clinical Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery: a Retrospective Cohort Study

The goal of this observational study is to determine the relationship of ROTEM point-of-care coagulation assay parameters with excessive bleeding and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery at Toronto General Hospital. The main questions it aims to answer are: i) How well does viscoelastic testing (VET) predict the clinical outcome of excessive bleeding in cardiac surgery? ii) Which VET parameters have the greatest accuracy for identification of patients who will have excessive bleeding? iii) 3) What is the prognostic value of abnormal VET parameters with other clinical outcomes after cardiac surgery?