Journal and News Scan

Gershengorn and colleagues evaluated the incidence and safety of overnight extubation following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), using retrospective data from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. Between 2014 and 2017, 42% of patients undergoing elective CABG had an overnight extubation, a rate that the authors report is similar to patients undergoing other cardiac procedures. For patients who had mechanical ventilation duration of six to eight hours, overnight extubation was associated with increased reintubation and longer intensive care unit stays, but less reintubation and reduced length of stay were observed for patients extubated overnight who had mechanical ventilation durations between nine and 20 hours. No difference in mortality was noted with overnight extubation, and the authors conclude that the practice is prevalent after cardiac surgery and that it is associated with little risk.

An interesting meta-analysis discouraging perhaps the use of this KATP modulator, especially after surgical revascularization where optimization of serum potassium is generally sought.

Using data from more than 3.3 million patients in the NCDR CathPCI Registry, researchers used machine learning to develop an algorithm that predicts post-PCI major bleeding with a C-statistic of 0.82.  

Zhang and colleagues examined serum biomarker levels in patients undergoing a lobectomy using video-assisted thoracic surgery. Among 626 patients, they found that preoperative serum LDH was an independent predictor of 90-day cardiopulmonary complications. The authors recommend including LDH measurements in the risk assessment process prior to major lung resection.