The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol affected traditional cardiac surgery processes and COVID-19 is expected to accelerate its scalability. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an ERAS-based protocol on the length of hospital stay after cardiac surgery. From January 2019 to June 2020, 664 patients underwent consecutive cardiac surgery at a Latin American center. Here, 46 patients were prepared for a rapid recovery through a multidisciplinary institutional protocol based on the ERAS concept, the “TotalCor protocol”. After the propensity score matching, 46 patients from the entire population were adjusted for 12 variables. Patients operated on the TotalCor protocol had reduced intensive care unit time (P < 0.025), postoperative stay (P ≤ 0.001) and length of hospital stay (P ≤ 0.001). In addition, there were no significant differences in the occurrence of complications and death between the two groups. Of the 10-central metrics of TotalCor protocol, 6 had > 70% adherences. In conclusion, the TotalCor protocol was safe and effective for a 3-day discharge after cardiac surgery. Postoperative atrial fibrillation and renal failure were predictors of postoperative stay > 5 days.

Objective:Cardiac surgeries are sometimes followed by significant blood loss, and blood transfusions may be necessary. However, indiscriminant use of blood components can result in detrimental effects for the patient. We evaluated the short-term effects of implementation of a protocol for the rational use of blood products in the perioperative period of cardiac surgery.Methods:Between April and June 2011, an institutional protocol was implemented in a private hospital specializing in cardiology to encourage rational use of blood products, with the consent and collaboration of seven cardiac surgery teams. We collected clinical and demographic data on the patients. The use of blood products and clinical outcomes were analyzed during hospital stay before and after protocol implementation. The protocol consisted of an institutional campaign with an educational intervention to surgical and anesthesiology teams; the goal was to tailor blood transfusion practice according to clinical goals (anemia with hemodynamic changes and significant ventricular dysfunction) and to make routine the prescription of Ɛ-aminocaproic acid intraoperatively, which is recommended by international guidelines based on scientific evidence.Results:After three months of protocol implementation, the use of Ɛ-aminocaproic acid increased from 31% to 100%. A total of 67% of surgeries before protocol implementation required any blood transfusion, compared with 40% that required any blood transfusion after protocol implementation in subsequent months of the same year (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes assessed before and after implementation of the protocol.Conclusion:The rational use of blood products associated with infusion of Ɛ-aminocaproic acid has the potential to reduce the number of blood transfusions in perioperative of cardiac surgeries, but it can affect the risk of complications.

Introduction Vascular calcifi cation is a regulated process, which associates with coronary artery disease (CAD) and occurs through an increase in transcription factor expression such as RUNX2, MSX2 and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), then inducing calcium deposition. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) is a potent osteochondrogenic mediator, which is expressed in CAD. Endothelin-1 (ET1) and leptin have a role in regulating infl ammation and CAD. We hypothesized that BMP2, leptin or both increase ROS formation in C57BL/6 vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC), stimulating osteochondrogenic diff erentiation. We also investigated the eff ect of ET1 in SMC osteochondrogenesis. Our objectives were: to investigate ROS production in SMC after BMP2 (50 ng/ml) and/or leptin (10 ng/ml) incubation for 6 hours; and to assess osteochondrogenic gene expression and calcifi cation of SMC stimulated with BMP2, leptin or ET1 (10 nM). Methods We assessed 2-hydroxyethidium, more specifi c for superoxide, and ethidium which refl ects hydrogen peroxide through HPLC analysis in SMC after stimulation. SMC cells were incubated with these stimuli for 48 to 96 hours and RUNX2, MSX2, ALP mRNA and protein expression were assessed using qPCR and western blotting. We quantifi ed SMC calcifi cation after 14 days of stimulation through Alizarin Red staining. Results The results are shown as mean ± SD and were statistically signifi cant when pHydrogen peroxide and superoxide production increased both in BMP2 and in leptin-incubated SMC (3.77 ± 0.32 and 3.26 ± 0.26) versus control (n = 6); pBMP2 and leptin alone increased SMC calcifi cation (1.25 ± 0.08 and 1.28 ± 0.14) versus control after 14 days (n = 6); pET1 alone did not stimulate osteocondrogenic mRNA expression vs. control. Conclusion We showed that BMP2 and leptin increased ROS formation in SMC, which stimulated osteocondrogenic mRNA/protein expression to induce SMC calcifi cation. ET1 alone did not increase osteochondrogenesis in SMC. P2Eff ects of rapid repetition of a vascular occlusion test on near-infrared spectroscopy-derived variables in healthy subjects and in critically ill patients DO Cortes, F Pufl ea, K Donadello, D de Backer, J-L Vincent, J Creteur Erasme Hospital, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Anderlecht, Bruxelles, Belgium Critical Care 2013, 17(Suppl 3):P2 (doi: 10.1186/cc12618) Introduction Transient ischemia modifi es cellular metabolism and microvascular physiology in order to limit damage from future hypoxic episodes, a phenomenon called preconditioning. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive technique that, when coupled to a vascular occlusion test (VOT), provides an indirect measurement of muscle oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) and microvascular reactivity. We hypothesized that: rapid repetition of a VOT may alter VOTinduced NIRS-derived variables and these changes could refl ect preconditioning; and these alterations would be diff erent in healthy volunteers and critically ill patients. Methods Continuous non-invasive measurements of thenar tissue oxygen saturati...

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