Objective To compare surgical outcomes of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection between operations at midnight and daytime. Methods From January 2004 to March 2013,195 patients with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection received surgical treatment in Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (Nanjing Cardiovascular Disease Hospital). Patients with identical or similar propensity scores were matched from 127 patients who underwent emergency operation at daytime and 68 patients who underwent emergency operation at midnight. A total of 58 pairs of matched patients which had the same or similar propensity score were selected in daytime surgery group (n=58,43 males and 15 females,47.7±14.6 years) and midnight surgery group (n=58,45 males and 13 females,48.3±14.6 years). Operation time,postoperative chest drainage,mechanical ventilation time,postoperative incidence of dialysis and tracheostomy,length of ICU stay and in-hospital mortality were compared between the daytime group and midnight group. Results A total of 58 pair of patients were matched in this study. There was no statistical difference in postoperative incidence of tracheostomy [19.0% (11/58) vs. 6.9% (4/58),P=0.053] or in-hospital mortality [8.6% (5/58) vs. 6.9%(4/58),P=0.729] between the midnight group and daytime group. Operation time (485.7±93.5 minutes vs. 428.5±123.3 minutes,P=0.048),postoperative chest drainage (979.5±235.7 ml vs. 756.6±185.9 ml,P=0.031),mechanical ventilation time (67.9±13.8 hours vs. 55.7±11.9 hours,P=0.025),postoperative incidence of dialysis [17.2% (10/58) vs. 5.2%(3/58),P=0.039] and length of ICU stay (89.4±16.2 hours vs. 74.8±12.5 hours,P=0.023) of the midnight group weresignificantly longer or higher than those of the daytime group. A total of 107 patients were followed up for 4-6 months after discharge. During follow-up,there was no late death. Among the 13 patients who required postoperative dialysis,12 patientsno longer needed regular dialysis. Conclusion Emergency operation at midnight does not increase in-hospital mortalitybut increase some postoperative morbidity in patients with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection. Whether at midnight or daytime,better preoperative preparation and surgeons’ vigor are needed for timely surgical treatment for patients with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection.
Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of mild hypothermia on the inflammatory response, organ function and outcome in perioperative patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAAD). Methods From February 2017 to February 2018, 56 patients with AAAD admitted in our department were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups including a control group and an experimental group. After deep hypothermia circulatory arrest during operation, in the control group (n=28), the patients were rewarmed to normal body temperatures (36 to 37 centigrade degree), and which would be maintained for 24 hours after operation. While in the experimental group (n=28), the patients were rewarmed to mild hypothermia (34 to 35 centigrade degree), and the rest steps were the same to the control group. The thoracic drainage volume and the incidence of shivering at the first 24 hours after operation, inflammatory indicators and organ function during perioperation, and outcomes were compared between the two groups. There were 20 males and 8 females at age of 51.5±8.7 years in the control group, 24 males and 4 females at age of 53.3±11.2 years in the experimental group.Results There was no obvious difference in the basic information and operation information in patients between the two groups. Compared to the control group, at the 24th hour after operation, the level of peripheral blood matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was lower than that in the experimental group (P=0.008). In the experimental group, after operation, the awakening time was much shorter (P=0.008), the incidence of bloodstream infection was much lower (P=0.019). While the incidence of delirium, acute kidney injury (AKI), hepatic insufficiency, mechanical ventilation duration, intensive care unit (ICU) stays, or hospital mortality rate showed no statistical difference. And at the first 24 hours after operation, there was no difference in the thoracic drainage volume between the two groups, and no patient suffered from shivering. Conclusion The mild hypothermia therapy is able to shorten the awakening time and reduce the incidence of bloodstream infection after operation in the patients with AAAD, and does not cause the increase of thoracic drainage volume or shivering.
Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of the Corheart 6 left ventricular assist system in patients with end-stage heart failure. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients with advanced heart failure who were treated with Corheart 6 left ventricular assist system from March 2022 to June 2024 in 4 hospitals in Jiangsu Province. The effectiveness and safety of the Corheart 6 left ventricular assist system were evaluated by comparing the changes in the patients' preoperative, discharge, 3-month postoperative, and 6-month postoperative indices. Effectiveness indicators included the New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function class, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD). The safety indicators included the position and orientation of the intraoperative blood pump inlet tube and the frequency of adverse events. Results In this study, 39 patients were collected, including 34 males and 5 females with a mean age of (56.4±12.5) years, ranging from 20 to 75 years. There was no operative death. There was no death in postoperative 3 months with a survival rate of 100.0%. There were 3 deaths in 6 months postoperatively, with a survival rate of 92.3%. All patients had a preoperative NYHA cardiac function classification of class Ⅳ. The NYHA cardiac function class of the patients improved (P<0.05) at discharge, 3 and 6 months after surgery when compared to the preoperative period. LVEF was significantly higher (P<0.05) at 3 months after surgery than that during the preoperative period. LVEDD was significantly lower (P<0.05) at discharge, 3 and 6 months after surgery than that during the preoperative period. The safety evaluation's findings demonstrated that all 39 patients' intraoperative blood pump inlet tubes were oriented correctly, the artificial blood vessel suture sites were appropriate, there were no instances of device malfunction or pump thrombosis, there were no instances of bleeding or hemolysis, and the rate of the remaining adverse events was low. Conclusion With a low rate of adverse events and an excellent safety profile, the Corheart 6 left ventricular assist system can efficiently enhance cardiac function in patients with end-stage heart failure. It also has considerable clinical uses.