91 research outputs found
Preoperative testing and medical therapy intervention to improve perioperative outcomes in noncardiac surgical patients.
Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and a growing concern in low-and-middle income countries, including those in Africa. Patients with cardiovascular disease often have poorly managed chronic conditions in the African setting, which impacts their outcome when they present for non-cardiac surgery. This cohort has an increased risk of perioperative cardiovascular complications. This series of studies explored evidence-based perioperative cardiovascular management strategies in patients with high-risk cardiac comorbidities presenting for non-cardiac surgery. Methods: This was achieved through five objectives which formed five separate but interconnected research studies. The first objective was to study the approach of natriuretic peptide-directed medical therapy in non-surgical patients to inform development of a preoperative protocol in surgical patients through a systematic review. The second objective was to conduct systematic review on exercise therapy in nonsurgical patients to inform development of a preoperative protocol in surgical patients. The third objective was to define the population who would need optimisation before surgery in the Western Cape, South Africa through a prospective observational study of risk stratification. The fourth objective was to explore the broader applicability of perioperative cardiovascular management of high-risk patients by examining cardiovascular outcomes after surgery on the African continent (a sub-study of a larger African cohort study). The fifth objective was to produce national guidelines on cardiovascular risk stratification in a South African and African surgical population. Main results: The systematic reviews showed potential utility for exercise therapy in the optimisation of cardiac patients for non-cardiac surgery. Medical therapy optimisation guided by natriuretic peptide testing did not demonstrate a consistent reduction in natriuretic peptides, but did support a potential mortality benefit in non-surgical patients. The cohort of cardiac patients presenting for non-cardiac surgery in the Western Cape carries significant cardiac risk and needs perioperative cardiovascular management. This was confirmed by the rate of adverse cardiovascular outcomes reported on the African continent. These data supported the development of context-specific national cardiovascular risk stratification guidelines. Conclusion: The cardiovascular burden and risk for perioperative cardiovascular complications presents a challenge in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa, and more broadly Africa. This is a growing phenomenon which needs the collaborative effort of perioperative physicians and the implementation of evidence-based strategies in perioperative cardiovascular management
B-type natriuretic peptide following thoracic surgery: a predictor of postoperative cardiopulmonary complications
B-type natriuretic peptides (BNPs) are secreted by the human heart in response to ventricular wall stretch or myocardial ischaemia, and predict adverse cardiovascular events and death in the general population. Following non-cardiac surgical procedures, there is growing evidence supporting BNP measurement as a powerful independent predictor of death and perioperative complications. However, the clinical implication of elevated BNP measurements after pulmonary resection has not been completely defined. This study aimed to evaluate the role of BNP in predicting adverse cardiopulmonary events after thoracic surgery.
A prospective, short-term, observational cohort study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, including consecutive patients undergoing scheduled pulmonary resection between April 2012 and October 2013. Baseline clinical details were obtained; serum BNP levels were measured at baseline and on postoperative days 1 and 4.
We enrolled 294 consecutive patients, median age 66 [interquartile range (IQR): 57-73], 67% male. There were 2 perioperative deaths, and 52 patients experienced one or more cardiopulmonary complications. The baseline median BNP value was normal (29.5 pg/ml, IQR: 16-57.2), and showed significant postoperative increase, peaking on day 1. Patients who developed postoperative complications had a significantly greater BNP increase (P < 0.0001) when compared with those without complications. A postoperative day 1 BNP measurement of a parts per thousand yen118.5 [receiver operating characteristic area: 0.654; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-0.74; P = 0.001] was associated with a 3-fold risk of developing postoperative cardiopulmonary complications [odds ratio (OR): 2.94; 95% CI: 1.32-6.57; P = 0.008]. Logistic regression analysis showed major pulmonary resections (lobectomies or pneumonectomies), BNP a parts per thousand yen 118.5 and age a parts per thousand yen 65 to be the only independent predictive variables. In the subset of patients undergoing lobectomy or pneumonectomy (n = 226), BNP was the strongest independent predictor of complications (OR: 3.49; 95% CI: 1.51-8.04).
Our results show that BNP elevation, measured in the first days after thoracic surgery, is independently associated with postoperative adverse events. In patients undergoing major pulmonary resections, a postoperative BNP elevation is the strongest independent predictor of cardiopulmonary complications
INTRAOPERATIVE HEMODYNAMIC PREDICTORS OF EARLY POSTOPERATIVE TROPONIN ELEVATION AND MORTALITY
Background: Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) increases the risk of 30-day mortality. Intraoperative hemodynamic events (i.e., tachycardia, bradycardia, hypotension, and hypertension) may contribute to developing MINS. Objectives: To determine if the addition of the duration spent within predefined intraoperative systolic blood pressure (BP; mmHg) (i.e.,160-199 and ≥200) and heart rate (HR; bpm) (i.e.,100-140 and >140) hemodynamic bands improved the prediction of Day 1 MINS (i.e., postoperative troponin T elevation ≥0.03 ng/ml within the first day after surgery) beyond preoperative risk model prediction. Methods: Prospective observational data was used to developed a baseline risk model to predict Day 1 MINS. Preoperative HR, systolic BP, and hemoglobin as well as intraoperative duration spent within each predefined hemodynamic band were explored to identify optimal thresholds for the prediction of Day-1 MINS. Preoperative variables were added to the baseline risk model to create a preoperative model. Intraoperative variables were then added to the preoperative risk model to create the final model. Models were compared using discrimination (c-statistic) and net reclassification index (NRI). Results: Adding preoperative hemoglobin ≤105 g/dL, systolic BP110 improved baseline model discrimination (0.783 to 0.792, p5min; HR >100 for >147min; systolic BP59min and systolic BP >160 for >42min further improved discrimination (0.8; p Conclusion: Adding intraoperative hemodynamic durations significantly improved Day-1 MINS model discrimination and risk stratification compared to the baseline risk model.Master of Health Sciences (MSc
Letter to the editor: The impact of introducing drug labelling at Grey’s Hospital Theatre over a six-month period
No Abstract
‘Gender affirming healthcare’ is not what the family physician needs to know
No abstract available
Reply: Summarizing randomized evidence with clinically relevant outcomes performed in the perioperative period
Efficient Supply of Cultural Landscape in a CGE Framework
It is often assumed that the agricultural sector produces public goods or positive externalities that benefit the domestic consumers, in addition to its production of private goods. Efficient agricultural support is consequently directed towards resolving market failures caused by the existence of these public goods or externalities. We illustrate how this can be achieved in a Computable General Equilibrium model for one multifunctional aspect of agricultural production, namely the production of cultural landscape. Using a public good modeling framework as point of departure, we develop supply- and willingness to pay functions for cultural landscape. Governmental agricultural support is adjusted to achieve efficient supply of the public good. As an illustration we apply our framework using a general equilibrium model for Norway. We show that efficient supply of cultural landscape can be achieved even with a tremendous reduction in initial overall support of agricultural production.CGE modeling, Multifunctionality, Public Goods, Land Economics/Use,
- …
