Project description:Low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) and maximum vasoactive inotropic score (VIS) have been used as surrogate markers for early postoperative outcomes in pediatric cardiac surgery. The objective of this study was to determine the associations between LCOS and maximum VIS with clinical outcomes in neonatal cardiac surgery. This was a secondary retrospective analysis of a prospective randomized trial, and the setting was a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit in a tertiary care children's hospital. Neonates (n = 76) undergoing corrective or palliative cardiac operations requiring cardiopulmonary bypass were prospectively enrolled. LCOS was defined by a standardized clinical criteria. VIS values were calculated by a standard formula during the first 36 postoperative hours, and the maximum score was recorded. Postoperative outcomes included hospital mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay (LOS), as well as total hospital charges. At surgery, the median age was 7 days and weight was 3.2 kg. LCOS occurred in 32 of 76 (42%) subjects. Median maximum VIS was 15 (range 5-33). LCOS was not associated with duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU LOS, hospital LOS, and hospital charges. Greater VIS was moderately associated with a longer duration of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.001, r = 0.36), longer ICU LOS (p = 0.02, r = 0.27), and greater total hospital costs (p = 0.05, r = 0.22) but not hospital LOS (p = 0.52). LCOS was not associated with early postoperative outcomes. Maximum VIS has only modest correlation with duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU LOS, and total hospital charges.
Project description:BackgroundThough controversial, the short-duration in-patient use of inotropes in cardiogenic shock (CS) remain an ACC/AHA Class IIa indication, and are frequently used in the initial treatment of CS. We evaluated in-patient mortality and effect on mortality risk of commonly used vasoactive inotropic medications for the medical management of SCAI stage B and C cardiogenic shock patients in a tertiary care cardiac care unit: dobutamine, dopamine, milrinone, and norepinephrine.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated 342 patients who received dobutamine, milrinone, dopamine, norepinephrine or a combination of these medications for SCAI stage B and C cardiogenic shock. Cox proportional hazards were used to form longitudinal mortality predictions.ResultsOverall in-patient mortality was 18%. Each 1 µg/kg/minute increase in dobutamine independently corresponded to a 15% increase in risk of mortality. High dose dobutamine >3 µg/kg/minute is associated with 3-fold increased risk compared to ⩽3 µg/kg/minute (P < .001). Use of milrinone, norepinephrine, and dopamine were not independently associated with mortality.ConclusionWe demonstrate that the overall in-hospital mortality of SCAI stage B and C cardiogenic shock patients medically managed on inotropes was not in excess of prior studies. Dobutamine was independently associated with mortality, while other vasoactive inotropic medications were not. Inotropes remain a feasible method of managing SCAI stage B and C cardiogenic shock.
Project description:BackgroundAmyloidosis is a systemic infiltrative disease that can affect nearly every organ in the human body. It is characterized by the deposition of misfolded protein within various tissues and organs. Once there is cardiac involvement this portends a worse prognosis.Case summaryWe describe a case series of two patients with cardiac amyloidosis presenting as a cardiogenic shock. There were several missed opportunities in diagnosing cardiac amyloid prior to their fatal presentations. In the first case, a 65-year-old African-American male patient presented with worsening shortness of breath and signs of heart failure. Echocardiography revealed preserved ejection fraction. He was diagnosed with light chain subtype of cardiac amyloidosis, and rapidly deteriorated during his admission. Patient in the second case is a 75-year-old African-American female who presented with worsening heart failure and hypotension. Echocardiography revealed reduced ejection fraction. She was diagnosed with transthyretin cardiac amyloid. Her clinical status worsened during admission and she went into cardiogenic shock requiring multiple vasopressors.DiscussionThis case series discusses two incidences of cardiac amyloidosis presenting as cardiogenic shock in African-American patients. This article postulates that cardiac amyloidosis may be misdiagnosed for more common causes of heart failure especially among this demographic group. Once patients with cardiac amyloid present with cardiogenic shock their clinical course is typically rapidly fatal despite aggressive measures. Earlier detection is imperative to prevent poor outcomes.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Cardiac power output (CPO), derived from the product of cardiac output and mean aortic pressure, is an important yet underexploited parameter for hemodynamic monitoring of critically ill patients in the intensive-care unit (ICU). The conductance catheter-derived pressure-volume loop area reflects left ventricular stroke work (LV SW). Dividing LV SW by time, a measure of LV SW min-?1 is obtained sharing the same unit as CPO (W). We aimed to validate CPO as a marker of LV SW min-?1 under various inotropic states. METHODS:We retrospectively analysed data obtained from experimental studies of the hemodynamic impact of mild hypothermia and hyperthermia on acute heart failure. Fifty-nine anaesthetized and mechanically ventilated closed-chest Landrace pigs (68?±?1?kg) were instrumented with Swan-Ganz and LV pressure-volume catheters. Data were obtained at body temperatures of 33.0?°C, 38.0?°C and 40.5?°C; before and after: resuscitation, myocardial infarction, endotoxemia, sevoflurane-induced myocardial depression and beta-adrenergic stimulation. We plotted LVSW min-?1 against CPO by linear regression analysis, as well as against the following classical indices of LV function and work: LV ejection fraction (LV EF), rate-pressure product (RPP), triple product (TP), LV maximum pressure (LVPmax) and maximal rate of rise of LVP (LV dP/dtmax). RESULTS:CPO showed the best correlation with LV SW min-?1 (r2?=?0.89; p?<?0.05) while LV EF did not correlate at all (r2?=?0.01; p?=?0.259). Further parameters correlated moderately with LV SW min-?1 (LVPmax r2?=?0.47, RPP r2?=?0.67; and TP r2?=?0.54). LV dP/dtmax correlated worst with LV SW min-?1 (r2?=?0.28). CONCLUSION:CPO reflects external cardiac work over a wide range of inotropic states. These data further support the use of CPO to monitor inotropic interventions in the ICU.
Project description:Introduction: Takotsubo is often described as stress-induced cardiomyopathy and is a known cause of heart failure. Objective: Review the clinical course of a young coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient who developed Takotsubo following cardiac tamponade. Case presentation: A 42-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with fever, altered mental status and hypoxia. She was ultimately found to be in cardiac tamponade and within 2 hours of a pericardiocentesis she developed Takotsubo and was in cardiogenic shock. Her family decided to place her on comfort measures and she died the same day. Discussion: This case illustrates the increasing number of cardiovascular complications being reported in COVID-19 and highlights the importance of clinicians to be aware of these challenges. Conclusion: Here, we report a distinct presentation of cardiogenic shock in a young COVID-19 patient. The rapid onset of her suspected Takotsubo and the severity of her disease were striking features in this case.
Project description:In patients with cardiogenic shock (CS), particularly those with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), evidence suggests that timely diagnosis and treatment interventions are critical in the prevention of haemo-metabolic compromise. Temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) has shown potential in facilitating revascularization and recovery of patients with acute myocardial infarction cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS). Timing of treatment strategies for CS patients needs to be optimized for use of tMCS devices that are applicable to this heterogeneous patient population. Here, the latest evidence as well as the gaps in knowledge surrounding the role of time in the management of patients with CS is summarized.
Project description:Malignant metastases to the heart and pericardium, which occur far more often than do primary cardiac neoplasms, typically lead to fatal outcomes. The phyllodes tumor is a rare, predominantly benign fibroepithelial breast neoplasm with variable malignancy potential. Herein, we describe the case of a 35-year-old woman who, 3 years after undergoing a simple mastectomy for a rapidly enlarging breast neoplasm, presented with cardiogenic shock and was found to have a large right ventricular tumor that obstructed the right ventricular outflow tract. Despite successful resection of the ventricular mass and a right atrial mass of organized thrombus, the patient died 8 days postoperatively of multiorgan failure due to severe right ventricular dysfunction. Histopathologic analysis determined that the right ventricular mass was a malignant, metastatic phyllodes tumor. To our knowledge, this is only the 2nd reported case of a phyllodes tumor that metastasized to the heart and presented as an intracavitary mass with cardiogenic shock. In addition to discussing our patient's case, we review the pertinent medical literature.
Project description:BackgroundLow cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) is the most serious physiological abnormality with high mortality for patients after cardiac surgery. This study aimed to explore the multidimensional data of clinical features and outcomes to provide individualized care for patients with LCOS.MethodsThe electronic medical information of the intensive care units (ICUs) was extracted from a tertiary hospital in South China. We included patients who were diagnosed with LCOS in the ICU database. We used the consensus clustering approach based on patient characteristics, laboratory data, and vital signs to identify LCOS subgroups. The consensus clustering method involves subsampling from a set of items, such as microarrays, and determines to cluster of specified cluster counts (k). The primary clinical outcome was in-hospital mortality and was compared between the clusters.ResultsA total of 1,205 patients were included and divided into three clusters. Cluster 1 (n = 443) was defined as the low-risk group [in-hospital mortality =10.1%, odds ratio (OR) = 1]. Cluster 2 (n = 396) was defined as the medium-risk group [in-hospital mortality =25.0%, OR = 2.96 (95% CI = 1.97-4.46)]. Cluster 3 (n = 366) was defined as the high-risk group [in-hospital mortality =39.2%, OR = 5.75 (95% CI = 3.9-8.5)].ConclusionPatients with LCOS after cardiac surgery could be divided into three clusters and had different outcomes.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Limited evidence exists on use of corticosteroids in low cardiac output syndrome following cardiac surgery. We sought to determine physicians' practices and beliefs with regard to corticosteroids therapy for low cardiac output syndrome. DESIGN:Multinational internet-based survey. SETTING:Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society member database. SUBJECTS:Pediatric cardiac intensive care physicians. INTERVENTIONS:None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:We received 188 responses from 85 centers throughout the world including 57 U.S. congenital heart centers, eight Canadian centers, and 20 international centers. The majority of respondents (51%) reported performing at least 200 bypass cases per year and had separate dedicated cardiac ICUs (57%). Most physicians (89%) rarely or never prescribe corticosteroids for mild low cardiac output syndrome (single vasoactive agent and mildly decreased perfusion), whereas 94% of those surveyed sometimes or always administer corticosteroids to patients with severe low cardiac output syndrome (two or more vasoactive agents and persistent hypotension). Hydrocortisone was the most commonly used corticosteroids (88%), but there was no consensus on dosage used. There was a variable approach to cortisol level measurement and cortisol stimulation testing to inform therapy with corticosteroids. A majority of respondents (75%) stated that they would be willing to randomize patients with severe low cardiac output syndrome into a trial of corticosteroids efficacy. CONCLUSIONS:Our survey demonstrates considerable practice variability with regard to the type of patients in whom corticosteroids are administered, adrenal axis testing is performed, and dosage of hydrocortisone used. The majority of physicians, however, stated their willingness to randomize patients with severe low cardiac output syndrome in a corticosteroids trial. This survey identified multiple areas for future research on use of corticosteroids for low cardiac output syndrome.