Verdi J. DiSesa

2011 ACCF/AHA Guideline for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines

L. David Hillis, MD, FACC, Chair†; Peter K. Smith, MD, FACC, Vice Chair*†; Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA*‡; John A. Bittl, MD, FACC§; Charles R. Bridges, MD, SCD, FACC, FAHA*†; John G. Byrne, MD, FACC†; Joaquin E. Cigarroa, MD, FACC†; Verdi J. DiSesa, MD, FACC†; Loren F. Hiratzka, MD, FACC, FAHA†; Adolph M. Hutter, Jr, MD, MACC, FAHA†; Michael E. Jessen, MD, FACC*†; Ellen C. Keeley, MD, MS†; Stephen J. Lahey, MD†; Richard A. Lange, MD, FACC, FAHA†§; Martin J. London, MD ; Michael J. Mack, MD, FACC*¶; Manesh R. Patel, MD, FACC†; John D. Puskas, MD, FACC*†; Joseph F. Sabik, MD, FACC*#; Ola Selnes, PhD†; David M. Shahian, MD, FACC, FAHA**; Jeffrey C. Trost, MD, FACC*†; Michael D. Winniford, MD, FACC†

2011 ACCF/AHA Guideline for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Alice K. Jacobs, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chair nnJeffrey L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chair-Elect nnNancy Albert, PhD, CCNS, CCRN, FAHAnnMark A. Creager, MD, FACC, FAHAnnSteven M. Ettinger, MD, FACCnnRobert A. Guyton, MD, FACCnnJonathan L. Halperin, MD, FACC, FAHAnnJudith S. Hochman, MD, FACC, FAHA

2011 ACCF/AHA guideline for coronary artery bypass graft surgery: Executive summary

2011;58;2584-2614; originally published online Nov 7, 2011; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Winniford Joseph F. Sabik, Ola Selnes, David M. Shahian, Jeffrey C. Trost, and Michael D. A. Lange, Martin J. London, Michael J. Mack, Manesh R. Patel, John D. Puskas, Adolph M. Hutter, Jr, Michael E. Jessen, Ellen C. Keeley, Stephen J. Lahey, Richard Bridges, John G. Byrne, Joaquin E. Cigarroa, Verdi J. DiSesa, Loren F. Hiratzka, L. David Hillis, Peter K. Smith, Jeffrey L. Anderson, John A. Bittl, Charles R. Surgeons Surgery, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and Society of Thoracic Developed in Collaboration With the American Association for Thoracic Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology 2011 ACCF/AHA Guideline for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: This information is current as of January 22, 2012 http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/58/24/2584 located on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is

Fifteen-year experience with 1678 Hancock porcine bioprosthetic heart valve replacements.

The Hancock porcine valve was the first commercially available biologic heart valve and has been in continuous use at the Brigham and Womens Hospital since January 1972. Through December 1987 we implanted 1678 valves in 1533 patients (885 male; 648 female; 17 to 95 years of age, with a mean of 60 years). There were 825 aortic valve replacements (AVR), 562 isolated mitral valve replacements (MVR), and 146 aortic mitral replacements (DVR). Ninety-four per cent of the patients were functional class III or IV. Associated coronary bypass was done in 25% of patients. Four per cent of patients were lost to follow up during a 1- to 16-year period with a mean of 6 years. Morbidity and mortality rates on a actuarial basis were calculated 10 and 15 years after operation for AVR, MVR, and DVR. The data indicates that the probability of reoperation for structural valve failure is quite reasonable as of 10 years, but from 10 to 15 years the numbers sharply fall off so that the probable effective life of the valve is 10 years. However in the elderly age group (equal to or greater than 70 years of age) the incidence of structural valve degeneration is markedly diminished, making this an ideal valve substitute for the elderly. It is also an ideal valve substitute in any patient who has a contraindication to long-term anticoagulation because of current medical or surgical problems.

Continuous noninvasive monitoring of cardiac output with esophageal Doppler ultrasound during cardiac surgery.

Esophageal Doppler ultrasonography offers a continuous and noninvasive alternative to standard thermodilution cardiac output monitoring. A total of 372 simultaneous measurements of Doppler and thermodilution cardiac output were compared in 16 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. In addition, echocardiographic aortic diameter measurement, necessary for Doppler calibration, was compared with direct surgical measurement in 23 patients. Echocardiographic aortic measurement was often time consuming and correlated poorly (r = 0.31) with surgical measurement. On the other hand, Doppler cardiac output was determined easily and accurately tracked thermodilution cardiac output (R2 = 0.95, common slope coefficient 1.050, by multiple linear regression). Furthermore, Doppler cardiac output was more reproducible, showing less short-term variability than thermodilution cardiac output. The esophageal Doppler technique allows cardiac output monitoring in patients for whom invasive monitoring is not warranted.

Recommendations of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Heart and Lung Xenotransplantation Working Group

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently convened the Heart and Lung Xenotransplantation Working Group to identify hurdles to the clinical application of xenotransplantation, defined as the use of animal organs or tissue for transplantation, and to recommend possible solutions to these problems. The group consisted of experts in xenotransplantation from academia, industry, and federal agencies, and the discussions focused on those areas within the mission of the NHLBI. The areas covered included immunologic and physiological barriers to xenotransplantation, the limitations of the current animal models, the need for collaboration among groups, the high costs of studies using nonhuman primates and genetic engineering of pigs, and the unique problems of lung xenotransplantation. This report is a summary of those discussions.

Contemporary Impact of State Certificate-of-Need Regulations for Cardiac Surgery An Analysis Using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ National Cardiac Surgery Database

Background— Prior research using administrative data associated certificate-of-need (CON) regulation for open heart surgery with higher hospital coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) volume and lower CABG operative mortality rates in elderly patients. It is unclear whether these findings apply in a general population and after controlling for detailed clinical characteristics and region. Methods and Results— Using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ (STS) National Cardiac Surgery Database, we examined isolated CABG surgery volume, operative mortality, and the composite end point of operative mortality or major morbidity for the years 2000 to 2003. The presence of CON regulations for open heart surgery was ascertained from the National Directory of the American Health Policy Association and by contacting CON administrators. Results were analyzed nationally, by state, and by region (West, Northeast, Midwest, South) and were adjusted for clinical factors and both population density and region with mixed-effects hierarchical logistic regression models. During 2000 to 2003, there were 314 710 isolated CABG surgeries performed at 294 STS hospitals in CON states (n=27, including Washington, DC) and 280 512 procedures at 343 STS hospitals in non-CON states (n=24). Patient clinical characteristics were similar among CON and non-CON hospitals. States with CON regulations tended to have higher population densities and had significantly higher median hospital annual CABG volumes in each of the years 2000 to 2003 (P<0.005). This difference remained significant after adjustment for region and population density. Operative mortality was 2.52% for CON versus 2.62% for non-CON states (P=0.32). There was a significant association between CON law and operative mortality in the South. After adjustment for patient risk factors and region, there was a marginally significant reduction of mortality risk in states with CON regulation (adjusted OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.00). However, this difference was not statistically significant when a revised model accounted for random state effects. Similar volume and outcomes results were seen when the analysis was repeated with data from the national Medicare database. Conclusions— CON states have significantly higher hospital CABG surgery volumes but similar mortality compared with non-CON states. CON regulation alone is not a sufficient mechanism to ensure quality of care for CABG surgery.

Triple sequential grafts using the internal mammary artery : an angiographic and short-term follow-up study

Between December 1984 and December 1988, coronary artery bypass operations, involving the use of 119 sequential internal mammary artery grafts with three or more anastomoses per conduit, were performed in 116 patients. Patients included 14 women and 102 men, with a mean age of 60 years. They received a total of 629 anastomoses; 373 anastomoses were used in multiple sequential arterial bypass grafts; 116 sequential left and three right internal mammary artery jump grafts were performed. There were 27 patients with bilateral internal mammary artery grafts, but only 17 had completely arterial revascularizations. Perioperative infarction occurred in 3.4 % of the patients; 1.7% of infarctions were related to sequential internal mammary artery grafts. There were no hospital deaths. Control angiography was performed within a month of the operation in 72 patients (with 371 anastomoses, of which 229 were in sequential arterial bypass grafts). The overall patency rate was 94.6 %, and for the internal mammary artery sequential graft with three or more anastomoses it was 96.1%. The mean follow-up period was 13 months; 110 patients were in New York Heart Association class I; there was one non-cardiac-related death, and three patients (2.6%) had a late myocardial infarction. One was related to the area revascularized by the sequential internal mammary artery graft. Multiple sequential internal mammary artery bypass grafts in coronary artery disease are feasible, with a high short-term patency and a low perioperative morbidity and mortality. (J T horac C ardiovasc S urg 1992;104:60–5)

New technology, old standards: Disparate activated clotting time measurements by the Hemochron Jr compared with the standard Hemochron

BACKGROUNDnAccurate control of the anticoagulation level is important for safe initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass. Using the Hemochron Jr., we consistently noted a higher than customary heparin dose required to achieve an activated clotting time (ACT) that, according to the literature and our quality standards, should be more than 480 seconds. This study was designed to determine whether there existed a significant difference in ACT values measured by the newer Hemochron Jr. and the older Hemochron 801 assay system.nnnMETHODSnA total of 30 patients underwent cardiovascular surgical procedures requiring heparinization (300 U/kg). Multiple samples for measurement of the ACT were obtained from all patients before heparinization, after heparinization, during cardiopulmonary bypass, and after protamine administration. Arterial samples were collected, and ACT was determined simultaneously on the same sample using both Hemochron Jr. and Hemochron 801. Activated clotting time data were analyzed with a linear mixed model using an unstructured variance-covariance matrix.nnnRESULTSnDescriptive statistics on all heparinized patients revealed that the Hemochron Jr. yielded ACT results that on average were 121.28 seconds lower than the determination by the standard Hemochron 801 on the same sample of blood. This difference was -139.04 in on-pump cases and -90.51 in off-pump cases, primarily a function of the fact that higher heparin doses and therefore longer ACTs were used in patients having operations using the heart-lung machine. From the linear mixed model, the estimated average paired difference between the Hemochron Jr. and Hemochron 801 was found to be -86.03, yielding a highly significant test statistic (t(28) = -6.18; p < 0.0001).nnnCONCLUSIONSnLower ACT values determined by Hemochron Jr. are consistent with higher, clinically acceptable ACT values as measured by the Hemochron 801. These findings would suggest that safe levels of anticoagulation are determined in part by the specific assay used.

Art and science in the management of endocarditis

troke is among the most devastating complications of S cardiac operations, and one that surgeons make specia1 efforts to avoid. A recent cerebrovascular accident in a patient facing a heart operation raises the concerns that cardiopulmonary bypass, and the anticoagulation necessary for it, increase the risk of extension of the infarct or conversion to a hemorrhagic stroke. Several recent series show that patients with bacterial endocarditis have a high incidence of neurologic involvement [I, 21. Many are referred for a definitive cardiac operation for their valvar heart disease soon after a presumably embolic stroke is documented. Incomplete information guides the cardiac surgeon in the rational management of patients with endocarditis who need a cardiac operation and who have had recent cerebral infarcts. Ting and colleagues [3], in a paper published in this issue of The Annals, address factors predisposing patients to stroke during and after operation for endocarditis. They have analyzed a consecutive population of 106 patients treated at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago and have assessed a number of factors thought to increase the risk for perioperative stroke. This useful study clearly identifies patients with a preoperative hemorrhagic infarct to be at significant risk for both perioperative progression of neurologic deficit and mortality. This