Algimantas Irnius

Impact of malnutrition on postoperative delirium development after on pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background & aimsEven though malnutrition is frequently observed in cardiac population outcome data after cardiac surgery in malnourished patients is very rare. No thorough research was done concerning the impact of malnutrition on neuropsychological outcomes after cardiac surgery. The aim of our study was to analyze the incidence of postoperative delirium development in malnourished patients undergoing on pump bypass grafting.MethodsWe performed a cohort study of adults admitted to Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Clinics for elective coronary artery bypass grafting. The nutritional status of the patients was assessed by Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) questionnaire the day before surgery. Patients were considered as having no risk of malnutrition when NRS-2002 score was less than 3 and at risk of malnutrition when NRS-2002 score was ≥3. During ICU stay patients were screened for postoperative delirium development using the CAM-ICU method. and divided into two groups: delirium and non delirium. The statistical analysis was preformed to evaluate the differences between the two independent groups. The logistic regression model was used to evaluate the potential preoperative and intraoperative risk factors of postoperative delirium.ResultsNinety-nine patients were enrolled in the study. Preoperative risk of malnutrition was detected in 24 % (n = 24) of the patients. The incidence of early postoperative delirium in overall study population was 8.0 % (n = 8). The incidence of the patients at risk of malnutrition was significantly higher in the delirium group (5 (62.5 %) vs 19 (20.9 %), p <0.0191). In multivariate logistic regression analysis risk of malnutrition defined by NRS 2002 was an independent preoperative and intraoperative risk factor of postoperative delirium after coronary artery bypass grafting (OR: 6.316, 95 % CI: 1.384-28.819 p = 0.0173).ConclusionsPreoperative malnutrition is common in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting. Nutrition deprivation is associated with early postoperative delirium after on pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Replication study of ulcerative colitis risk loci in a Lithuanian-Latvian case-control sample

Background:Differences between populations might be reflected in their different genetic risk maps to complex diseases, for example, inflammatory bowel disease. We here investigated the role of known inflammatory bowel disease–associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a subset of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) from the Northeastern European countries Lithuania and Latvia and evaluated possible epistatic interactions between these genetic variants. Methods:We investigated 77 SNPs derived from 5 previously published genome-wide association studies for Crohns disease and UC. Our study panel comprised 444 Lithuanian and Latvian patients with UC and 1154 healthy controls. Single marker case–control association and SNP-SNP epistasis analyses were performed. Results:We found 14 SNPs tagging 9 loci, including 21q21.1, NKX2-3, MST1, the HLA region, 1p36.13, IL10, JAK2, ORMDL3, and IL23R, to be associated with UC. Interestingly, the association of UC with previously identified variants in the HLA region was not the strongest association in our study (P = 4.34 × 10−3, odds ratio [OR] = 1.25), which is in contrast to all previously published studies. No association with any disease subphenotype was found. SNP-SNP interaction analysis showed significant epistasis between SNPs in the PTPN22 (rs2476601) and C13orf31 (rs3764147) genes and increased risk for UC (P = 1.64 × 10−6, OR = 2.44). The association has been confirmed in the Danish study group (P = 0.04, OR = 3.25). Conclusions:We confirmed the association of the 9 loci (21q21.1, 1p36.13, NKX2-3, MST1, the HLA region, IL10, JAK2, ORMDL3, and IL23R) with UC in the Lithuanian–Latvian population. SNP-SNP interaction analyses showed that the combination of SNPs in the PTPN22 (rs2476601) and C13orf31 (rs3764147) genes increase the risk for UC.

Post-mortem investigation of calcium content in liver, heart, and skeletal muscle in accidental hypothermia cases

The identification of hypothermia as cause of the death was always quite problematic in the field of forensic medicine. The aim of the present study was to verify the determination of calcium content in post-mortem liver, heart, and skeletal muscle samples as the biochemical marker defining hypothermia as the cause of death. The study involved 43 autopsy cases in which the circumstances of death indicated the effects of overcooling. The control group consisted of material collected from the corpses of 30 persons who were not exposed to low temperatures but died due to technical injuries (n=5), asphyxia (n=6), intoxication with ethanol and other substances (n=8), and acute myocardial infarction/ischemia (n=11). The concentration of calcium in autopsy samples was determined applying flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Our study showed no significant differences of calcium content in tissues of persons who died due to hypothermia, over those who died in normothermic conditions.

Investigation of Distribution of Heavy Metals between Blood Plasma and Blood Cells

The physiological importance of metals in human organism has been shown by many publications. The toxic doses of metals and their compounds can lead to serious health problems.1–4 Different metals present in the composition of blood can form different complexes with many organic compounds and biomolecules which could be found in the body fluids.5–7 Depending on the concentration of metals in the parts of body, different metal-ligand equilibriums could be established in the system. These changes could cause changes in global bioprocesses, or different clinical symptoms and metabolic stresses in human organism could occur. The distribution of metals between blood plasma and blood cells could represent an important clinical index.8–10 The aim of the present study was to investigate, for the first time to our knowledge, the distribution of heavy metals between blood plasma and cells in the blood samples from the infected by hepatitis C and non-infected patients.

Preoperative risk factors of malnutrition for cardiac surgery patients

Background. Malnutrition (MN) is prevalent in cardiac surgery, but there are no specific preoperative risk factors of MN. The aim of this study is to assess the clinically relevant risk factors of MN for cardiac surgery patients. Materials and methods. The nutritional state of the patients was evaluated one day prior to surgery using a bioelectrical impedance analysis phase angle (PA). Two groups of patients were generated according to low PA: malnourished and well nourished. Risk factors of MN were divided into three clinically relevant groups: psychosocial and lifestyle factors, laboratory findings and disease-associated factors. Variables in each different group were entered into separate multivariate logistic regression models. Results. A total of 712 patients were included in the study. The majority of them were 65-year old men after a CABG procedure. Low PA was present in 22.9% (163) of patients. The analysis of disease-related factors of MN revealed the importance of heart functions (NYHA IV class OR: 3.073, CI95%: 1.416–6.668, p = 0.007), valve pathology (OR: 1.825, CI95%: 1.182–2.819, p = 0.007), renal insufficiency (OR: 4.091, CI95%: 1.995–8.389, p < 0.001) and body mass index (OR: 0.928, CI95%: 0.890–0.968, p < 0.001). Laboratory values related to MN were levels of haemoglobin (OR: 0.967, CI95%: 0.951–0.983, p < 0.001) and C-reactive protein (OR: 1.015, CI95%: 1.002–1.028, p = 0.0279). The lifestyle variables that qualified as risk factors concerned the intake of food (OR: 3.030, CI95%: 1.353–6.757, p = 0.007) and mobility (OR: 2.770, CI95%: 1.067–7.194, p = 0.036). Conclusions. MN risk factors comprise three different clinical groups: psychosocial and lifestyle factors, laboratory findings and disease-associated factors. The patients who are most likely to be malnourished are those with valve pathology, severe imparted heart function, insufficient renal function and high inflammatory markers. Also these patients have decreased mobility and food intake.