Objectives Re-exploration after cardiac surgery remains a frequent complication with adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of timing and indication of re-exploration on outcome. Methods A retrospective, observational study on a cohort of 209 patients, who underwent re-exploration after cardiac surgery between January 2005 and December 2011, was performed. The cohort was matched for age, gender, and procedure with patients who were not re-explored during the same period. Results The intraoperative and postoperative transfusion requirements were higher in the re-exploration group (p < 0.01). Patients in the re-exploration group had significantly higher incidences of postoperative acute renal injury (10.0 vs. 3.3%), sternal wound (9.1 vs. 2.4%) and pulmonary (13.4 vs. 4.3%) infections, longer ventilation time (22 [range, 14–52] vs. 12 [range, 9–16] hours) and intensive care unit stay (5 [range, 3–7] vs. 2 [range, 2–4] days), and higher mortality rate (9.6 vs. 3.3%). However, the multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that not the re-exploration itself, but the deleterious effects of re-exploration (blood loss and transfusion requirement) were independent risk factors for mortality. Mortality was 5.3% for patients who were re-explored within the first 12 hours and 20.3% for patients who were re-explored after 12 hours (p = 0.003). Mortality was 3.6% for patients with bleeding and 31.4% for patients with cardiac tamponade for indication of re-exploration (p < 0.001). Conclusions This study suggests that re-exploration after cardiac surgery is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Patients with delayed re-exploration and suffering from cardiac tamponade have adverse outcome.

Background Despite improvements in diagnostics and perioperative care, readmission to intensive care unit (ICU) after cardiac surgery is still a severe drawback for patients with considerable morbidity, mortality, and costs. Aim of this retrospective analysis was to disentangle independent risk factors for ICU readmission. Material and Methods Between 01/2004 and 12/2012, 336 out of 9,555 (3.5%) patients undergoing cardiac surgery at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Regensburg (Germany) were readmitted to ICU. A matched-pair analysis (readmission vs control group) was conducted, matching for gender, age, and surgical procedure. Operations included coronary artery bypass grafting, valve reconstruction/replacement, aortic surgery, combined procedures, and others. Mean follow-up was 6.2 ± 2.3 years. Results Median age of the readmitted patients was 71 years (65; 76), and the majority was male (67.9%). Median logistic Euroscore as a parameter for perioperative risk was significantly higher as compared with the control group (5.8 vs 5.2, p = 0.045) as was the prevalence of comorbidities including hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, prior myocardial infarction, stroke, and PAOD. Most common reasons for readmission were cardiopulmonary instability (27.4%), respiratory failure (20.8%), and surgery for deep sternal infection (8.6%). Twenty-one percent required more than one readmission. Overall mortality was significantly higher in readmitted patients (21.1 vs 12.5%). Conclusions In conclusion, readmission to the ICU after cardiac surgery is a rare complication that is still associated with excessive mortality. Establishment of an intermediate care unit proved to be an excellent means to reduce ICU stay without endangering post-surgery patients and significantly reduced the ICU readmission rate.

Background: Acute type A aortic dissection (AAAD) has high mortality. Improvements in surgical technique have lowered mortality but postoperative functional status and decreased quality of life due to debilitating deficits remain of concern. Our study aims to identify preoperative conditions predictive of undesirable outcome to help guide perioperative management. Methods: We performed retrospective analysis of 394 cases of AAAD who underwent repair in our institution between 2001 and 2018. A combined endpoint of parameters was defined as (1) 30-day versus hospital mortality, (2) new neurological deficit, (3) new acute renal insufficiency requiring postoperative renal replacement, and (4) prolonged mechanical ventilation with need for tracheostomy. Results: Total survival/ follow-up time averaged 3.2 years with follow-up completeness of 94%. Endpoint was reached by 52.8%. Those had higher EuroSCORE II (7.5 versus 5.5), higher incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) (9.2% versus 3.2%), neurological deficit (ND) upon presentation (26.4% versus 11.8%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (14.4% versus 1.6%) and intubation (RF) before surgery (16.9% versus 4.8%). 7-day mortality was 21.6% versus 0%. Hospital mortality 30.8% versus 0%. Conclusions: This 15-year follow up shows, that unfavorable postoperative clinical outcome is related to ND, CAD, CPR and RF on arrival.

Preoperative anemia and low hematocrit during cardiopulmonary bypass have been associated with worse outcome in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The minimized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) allows a reduction of the negative effects associated with conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC). In this study, the impact of the MECC on outcome of anemic patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was assessed. Between January 2004 and December 2011, 1,945 consecutive patients with preoperative anemia underwent isolated CABG using CECC (44.8%) or MECC (55.2%). The cutoff point for anemia was 13 g/dl for men and 12 g/dl for women. The postoperative creatine kinase and lactate levels were significantly lower in the MECC group (p < 0.001). There was no difference in postoperative blood loss between the groups. However, the intraoperative and postoperative transfusion requirements were significantly lower in the MECC group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, MECC patients had lower incidences of postoperative acute renal failure, and low cardiac output syndrome, shorter intensive care unit lengths of stay and reduced 30-day mortality (p < 0.05). In conclusion, a reduced postoperative mortality, lower transfusion requirements, and less renal and myocardial damage encourage the use of MECC for CABG, especially in the specific high-risk subgroup of patients with anemia.