Psychosocial Factors Associated with Transfer Anxiety among Open Heart Surgery Patients Transferred from the Intensive Care Unit to the General Ward

Introduction: Patient’s transfer from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the general ward indicates their improving health status. However, the transfer produces anxiety when patients enter an unfamiliar environment with different care protocols and circumstances. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the level of ICU transfer anxiety among open heart surgery patients and determine the psychosocial factors associated with ICU transfer anxiety among open heart surgery patients. Methods: Data were collected in a cardiac center in Kathmandu City, Nepal among 95 open heart surgery patients within 24 hours of their transfer from an ICU to a general ward. The study used four self-reported questionnaires, namely the modified Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale for Adults, modified Brief COPE Inventory, Nurses’ Support Questionnaire, and State Anxiety Inventory. Results: Fifty-two patients (54.7%) had a high level of transfer anxiety. Spearman’s rank correlation showed that uncertainty in illness, coping, and nurses’ support were significantly related to transfer anxiety (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest nurses to address uncertainty in illness of the patients, improve their coping abilities, and provide need-based nursing support to them during the transitional phase. Besides, clinicians and governmental agencies should contribute to implication of transitional guidelines, which can reduce transfer anxiety and promote health and recovery of the patients.

RELEASE OF SERUM TROPONIN I AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MULTIFACTORS FOLLOWING OPEN HEART SURGERY IN CHILDREN

Objective To be released specifically after myocardial damage. The goal of this study was to measure serum cardiac troponin I levels after open heart surgery in children, and to evaluate relevance between TnTi and perioperative multi-factors. Methods Fifty-seven consecutive pediatric patients undergoing elective correction of congenital heart diseases were divided into group A （ TOF, n =31 ） and group B （ VSD, n =26）. Blood sampies were drawn preoperatively, 5min（ T0 ） , 6h（ T6 ） , 12h（ T12 ） , 24h（ T24 ） , 48h（ T48 ） , 72h（ T72 ） after removal of aortic cross clamping. Myocardial protection consisted of moderate systemic hypothermia （ 30℃- 32℃ ）, cold crystalloid cardioplegia and topical cooling. Demographic information, cardiac defect, repair procedure, duration of bypass （ CPBT） , cross-clamping time （ CCT） , clinical score for cardiac function, electrocardiographic changes and outcomes were recorded. Results Compared with the baseline value, serum concentration of troponin I peaked at T0 （ P 〈 0. 01 ）, and fell to normal level at T72 （ P 〉 0. 05 ）. Peak CTnI was 118 and 55 times higher than the baseline value, respectively in group A and group B. There was a positive correlation between peak CTnI and CPBT, CCT （ r = 0. 51 ; P 〈 0. 01 ）, myocardial operative injury after ventriculotomy and muscle resection （ r = 0. 35, P 〈0. 01 ）. Also the peak CTnl value was correlated to the clinical score for cardiac function （r = -0. 52; P 〈0. 01）. 2.3μg/L was a cutoff value which was highly predictive for postoperative recovery and inotropic support. Conclusion Postoperative serum troponin I is a highly specific and sensitive marker for myocardial ischemia and injury; therefore, its measurement may contribute to the assessment of recovery and outcome after open heart surgery.

CHANGES ON RECEPTOR EXPRESSIONAND PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-2 IN CIRCULATING LYMPHOCYTE POPULATION AFTER OPEN HEART SURGERY

To evaluate the change of perioperative cell mediated immunity after cardiac operation with cardiopul-monary bypass (CPB), so as to provide some information for timely prevention and treatment against post-operative immunological disorder, 40 patients were studied. By searching for the effects of CPB and anes-thesia, interleukln-2 receptor (IL-2R) expression upon the surface of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC), as well as interleukin-2 (IL-2) production in vitro was traced 55 min after anesthesia, at end ofCPB, on postoperative 1, 7, and 14 day versus preanesthesia control. Our data demonstrated that expres-sion of IL-2R on PBMC was significantly suppressed in all comparing with the baseline value, meanwhile,IL-2 production in vitro also statistically dropped. However,no statistical difference was found on perioper-ative IL 2R expression and IL-2 synthesis in the cholecystectomy group. We conclude that postoperativeimmunological disorder seems to be the main factor, which could be denoted as reduced IL 2R expressionon PBMC and lL-2 synthesis in vitro for sepsis, even multiple system organ failure developed after cardiacsurgery.

Renal Outcomes and Myocardial Performance after On-Pump Beating Heart versus Conventional On-Pump Surgery in Patients with Preoperative Low Glomerular Filtration Rate

Objective: Acute kidney disease develops 16% - 30% of patients with preoperative impaired renal functions. Our aim of this study was to compare postoperative renal outcomes using two open heart surgery techniques, on-pump beating heart (OPBH) and conventional on-pump (COP), in patients who have preoperative low glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as an indicator of creatinine clearance. Methods: From 2004 to 2015, 341 patients with preoperative creatinine clearance were lower than 90 ml/min/1.73m2 were selected for this study. On-Pump beating heart was performed in 111 patients (Group I). Conventional on-pump technique was used in 200 patients. In the remaining patients, we measured postoperative Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha), cardiac troponin I (cTn-I), Brain natriuretic peptid (NT-Pro- BNP), creati-nine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and postoperative eGFR daily until day four after surgery. Results: There were no differences in baseline levels of TNF-alpha, NT-Pro-BNP, BUN, cTn-I, Cr levels between the groups. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time were much longer and cumulative inotrope use was significantly higher in patients underwent COP (P Conclusion: Our study showed that on-pump beating heart CABG technique provides a morbidity benefit and is associated with a lower risk of peroperative LOS in patients with mild renal disfunction. Our study results suggest that OPBH is superior to the COP in terms of postoperative renal injury and cardiac mediators.

Combination of balanced ultrafiltration with modified ultrafiltration attenuates pulmonary injury in patients undergoing open heart surgery

Objective To explore the effects of ultrafiltration technique in preventing and relieving pulmonary injury in children undergoing open heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods Thirty cases with congenital heart defects were divided into a control group and an experimental group. In the control group,conventional cardiopulmonary bypass was used without ultrafiltration; while in the experimental group,cardiopulmonary bypass with balanced ultrafiltration and modified ultrafiltration were used. Pulmonary static compliance (C stat ),airway resistance (R aw ),alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (A-a DO 2),hematocrit (HCT),serum albumin (Alb),interleukin-6 (IL-6),endothelia-1 (ET-1) and thromboxane (TXB 2) were measured. Results The pulmonary function was improved,HCT and serum albumin concentrations were increased,and some harmful medium-size solutes were decreased in the experimental groups compared with the control group.Conclusions Combination of balanced ultrafiltration with modified ultrafiltration can effectively concentrate blood,exclude harmful inflammatory mediators,and attenuate lung edema and inflammatory responsive pulmonary injury.

Comparative study on cerebral injury after open heart surgery in patients with congenital and rheumatic heart disease

Objective: To comparatively study the different effects of open heart surgery on brain tissues of patients with congenital and rheumatic heart disease. Methods: Forty patients with congenital heart disease (CHD, CHD group, n=20) or rheumatic heart disease (RHD, RHD group, n=20) underwent on-pump (cardiopulmonary bypass, CPB) heart-beating open heart surgery. Blood samples before CPB, and 20 minutes, 1 hour, 24 hours and 7 days after CPB were collected, and the levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and protein S-100b in the plasma were determined with enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. All the patients were examined with electroencephalogram (EEG) before and 1 week after operation. The changes of NSE, S-100b and EEG compared to verify the difference of postoperative cerebral injury between CHD cases and RHD cases. Results: The plasma level of S-100b increased significantly 20 minutes after CPB and was still higher than the preoperative level at 24 hours after operation in both groups (P< 0.01). The plasma level of NSE increased more significantly in the CHD group than in the RHD group 20 minutes after CPB and it returned to the normal level 24 hours after CPB in the CHD group but remained at a high level in the RHD group (P< 0.01). The levels of NSE and S-100b returned to the normal levels on the 7th day after CPB. Abnormal EEG was found in 75% of the patients in the CHD group and 60% in the RHD group. Conclusions: On-pump heart-beating open heart surgery can cause certain cerebral injury in the patients with CHD or RHD. The injury was more severe and recovered more quickly in the CHD group than in the RHD group.

Efficacy of amiodarone and lidocaine for preventing ventricular fibrillation after aortic cross-clamp release in open heart surgery:a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objective： The relative preventative efficacy of amiodarone and lidocaine for ventricular fibrillation（VF） after release of an aortic cross-clamp（ACC） during open heart surgery has not been determined. This meta-analysis was designed to systematically evaluate the influence of amiodarone, lidocaine, or placebo on the incidence of VF after ACC. Methods： Prospective randomized controlled trials（RCTs） that compared the VF-preventative effects of amiodarone with lidocaine, or amiodarone or lidocaine with placebo were included. Pub Med, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant RCTs. Fixed or randomized effect models were applied according to the heterogeneity of the data from the selected studies. Results： We included eight RCTs in the analysis. Pooled results suggested that the preventative effects of amiodarone and lidocaine were comparable（relative risk（RR）=1.12, 95% confidence interval（CI）： 0.70 to 1.80, P=0.63）, but both were superior to the placebo（amiodarone, RR=0.71, 95% CI： 0.51 to 1.00, P=0.05; lidocaine, RR=0.63, 95% CI： 0.46 to 0.88, P=0.006）. The percentage of patients requiring electric defibrillation counter shocks（DCSs） did not differ significantly among patients administered amiodarone（RR=0.21, 95% CI： 0.04 to 1.19, P=0.08）, lidocaine（RR=2.44, 95% CI： 0.13 to 44.02, P=0.55）, or the placebo（RR=0.56, 95% CI： 0.25 to 1.25, P=0.16）. Conclusions： Amiodarone and lidocaine are comparably effective in preventing VF after ACC, but the percentage of patients who subsequently require DCSs does not differ among those administered amiodarone, lidocaine, or placebo.

Combined Hepatocardiac Hydatid Cystic Disease

Cardiac echinococcus is a serious problem. Although it is rare, it could cause dangerous complications like anaphylactic shock which could be fatal. In our case a 14-year-old female complained with the intermittent chest pain and had combined cystic lesions in the heart and the liver. The liver cyst was treated conservatively, while the heart cyst was excised by open heart surgery.