Clinical Research Directory

SecondarY Prevention and maNagement of Myocardial Injury aftER Noncardiac surGerY (SYNERGY) Pilot Trial

Cardiac complications, particularly myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS), significantly contribute to 30-day mortality, affecting about 1 in 10 patients after noncardiac surgery. Despite its prevalence and serious implications, there is no consensus on managing myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery in clinical practice. Interventions commonly used for cardiovascular prevention in patients who had a heart attack outside of a surgery context could also be beneficial in patient with MINS. This pilot study trial aims to gather feasibility data, such as recruitment rates and intervention adherence that will guide on the design and inform on sample size of a future study with large pragmatic randomized controlled trial on the impact of systematic referral for secondary cardiovascular prevention on outcomes in patients who had a MINS.

The Choice of Vasopressor to Prevent Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury After Major Non-Cardiac Surgery

Low blood pressure, also known as hypotension, is very common during major surgery under general anesthesia. Prolonged or severe hypotension can lead to complications such as kidney injury after surgery that slow down patient recovery. Anesthesiologists commonly administer medications called vasopressors to treat low blood pressure during surgery. These medications help raise the blood pressure back up to a safe range. Two vasopressor medications are commonly used for this purpose: norepinephrine and phenylephrine. Each of these medications has slightly different effects on the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system). It remains unknown which of these standard medications is better for treating low blood pressure during surgery. The goal of this clinical trial is to determine which of these two medications is better at preventing injury to the kidneys after major noncardiac surgery as well as other complications such as heart problems. Major surgeries are defined as those lasting at least two hours under general anesthesia. This trial will randomize about ten centers in North America to use either norepinephrine or phenylephrine as the primary medication to treat low blood pressure in adults undergoing major noncardiac surgery. Each hospital will prioritize one of the drugs each month, and the assigned drug will rotate each month at each hospital. No further participant involvement will be required as de-identified data are collected as part of standard medical care.

Prediction Model for MINS After Major Hepatobiliary Surgery

This multi-center, prospective observational study aims to develop and validate an interpretable prediction model for Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery (MINS) in patients undergoing major hepatobiliary surgery. The study adopts a nested modeling strategy, starting with baseline risk factors (e.g., RCRI) and stepwise incorporating hepatic inflow occlusion strategies (specifically comparing SPVO vs. Pringle maneuver) and routine intraoperative biomarkers. The model's performance will be evaluated using AUC, Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI), and Decision Curve Analysis (DCA), followed by interpretability analysis using SHAP values and external validation in an independent cohort.

Vascular Events in Noncardiac Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation Study 2

VISION-2 is an international, multi-site, prospective observational cohort study of 20,000 patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Continuous biometric data will be blindly collected for the first 30 postoperative days, in hospital and at home, using Vitaliti™. Following study enrollment and baseline data collection, follow up visits will occur in-hospital, at 30-days, and 1-year post-operatively. VISION-2 has 3 primary objectives, among participants who underwent noncardiac surgery, we will: 1) determine the pattern and frequency of physiological precursors (i.e., biophysical signals) to MINS, BIMS, sepsis, and infection without sepsis; 2) build prediction models from these biophysical signals and their extracted features through supervised machine learning, for the prediction and early detection of those complications; and 3) build a biobank for evaluation of novel biomarkers.

Ivabradine for Prevention of Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery Trial (PREVENT-MINS)

This study is a multicentre, randomized controlled trial of ivabradine versus placebo.

Study on the Correlation Between Intraoperative Hypotension and Postoperative Myocardial Injury

The investigators are conducting an important study aimed at better understanding and predicting a potential complication after non-cardiac surgery: myocardial injury. This research is crucial for enhancing surgical safety and improving patient outcomes. Simply put, postoperative myocardial injury (PMI) means that heart muscle cells are damaged after non-cardiac surgery. While it might not cause obvious chest pain like a heart attack, it can show up as abnormalities on an electrocardiogram (ECG) or in blood tests (like elevated troponin levels). This type of injury is a significant factor contributing to postoperative complications and even mortality. During surgery, hypotension-or low blood pressure-is a common occurrence. The investigators know that maintaining adequate blood pressure is essential for the heart to receive a sufficient blood supply. If blood pressure drops too low, the heart's blood supply can be reduced, potentially leading to oxygen deprivation and damage to heart muscle cells. While it's widely accepted that low blood pressure is linked to myocardial injury, precisely defining "low blood pressure" during surgery has been a persistent challenge. * Historically, the investigators have focused on the "absolute value" of blood pressure, such as a fixed mean arterial pressure (MAP) threshold (e.g., below 65 mmHg). Many studies have indeed shown that MAP below 65 mmHg, especially for extended periods, increases the risk of PMI. * However, recent research is starting to challenge this perspective. Some studies have found that even maintaining a relatively higher blood pressure during surgery (e.g., MAP above 75 mmHg) didn't significantly reduce the incidence of PMI. This suggests that simply looking at a fixed blood pressure number might not tell the whole story. Our preliminary research uncovered an intriguing finding: even if a patient's absolute blood pressure value during surgery seemed acceptable (e.g., above 60 mmHg), their risk of postoperative myocardial injury significantly increased if that pressure had dropped by more than 40% from their individual "normal" pre-operative blood pressure. Based on this discovery, our study proposes a novel hypothesis: the percentage drop in MAP from an individual's baseline might be more strongly correlated with postoperative myocardial injury and a better predictor of risk than the absolute MAP value. The investigators will be reviewing patient data from non-cardiac surgeries performed at China-Japan Friendship Hospital between 2020 and 2025. The investigators will meticulously analyze these patients' intraoperative blood pressure changes (considering both absolute values and the percentage change from their pre-operative baseline) and compare these findings with whether they developed myocardial injury after surgery. Our study's goal is to determine which definition of low blood pressure (absolute value or percentage drop from baseline) is more closely related to postoperative myocardial injury. The investigators will collect detailed patient information, including demographics, past medical history, pre- and post-operative test results, intraoperative vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, etc., recorded every 15 seconds), and intraoperative medications. All data will undergo rigorous statistical analysis to ensure the scientific validity and reliability of our findings. The results of this study will help us more accurately identify patients at high risk for postoperative myocardial injury. If our hypothesis is confirmed, it means that during surgery, doctors, in addition to monitoring absolute blood pressure values, will pay closer attention to the degree of blood pressure drop relative to a patient's own normal baseline. This will help to: * Improve understanding of individual patient differences: Recognizing that what's "normal" for one patient might be too low for another. * Enable more precise adjustments in anesthesia and surgical management: Allowing for timely interventions to maintain optimal heart muscle perfusion, thereby reducing the incidence of postoperative myocardial injury. * Ultimately, enhance patient safety during surgery and improve their recovery and long-term outcomes.

Comparison of Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery (MINS) Incidence in Supine vs. Prone Positioning During Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PNL)

This prospective cohort study aims to compare the incidence of Myocardial Injury after Noncardiac Surgery (MINS) in patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) for kidney stones in supine versus prone positioning. MINS is defined as an elevated postoperative troponin level (≥0.03 ng/mL) within 48 hours after surgery. Approximately 400 patients will be enrolled, with 200 patients in each positioning group (supine and prone). The primary outcome is the incidence of MINS, assessed through troponin measurements and electrocardiogram (ECG) findings. Secondary outcomes include intraoperative complications, duration of surgery, and postoperative recovery metrics. The study seeks to determine whether surgical positioning impacts MINS risk, potentially guiding safer surgical practices.

Colchicine in Patients at Cardiac Risk Undergoing Major Non-Cardiac Surgery

Perioperative myocardial injury and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are common causes of morbidity and mortality in patients at increased cardiovascular risk undergoing non-cardiac surgery. However, research in recent years has yielded limited preventive and therapeutic measures for myocardial injury/MACE. Recent studies in patients with chronic and acute coronary artery disease have shown that colchicine administration can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. These encouraging results in non-surgical patients ask for a similar investigation in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. The aim of the proposed study is to investigate the effects of perioperative colchicine administration on the incidence of myocardial injury/MACE.