ObjectivePatients who have prolonged stay in intensive care unit (ICU) are associated with adverse outcomes. Such patients have cost implications and can lead to shortage of ICU beds. We aimed to develop a preoperative risk prediction tool for prolonged ICU stay following coronary artery surgery (CABG).Methods5,186 patients who underwent CABG between 1st April 1997 and 31st March 2002 were analysed in a development dataset. Logistic regression was used with forward stepwise technique to identify preoperative risk factors for prolonged ICU stay; defined as patients staying longer than 3 days on ICU. Variables examined included presentation history, co-morbidities, catheter and demographic details. The use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was also recorded. The prediction tool was tested on validation dataset (1197 CABG patients between 1st April 2003 and 31st March 2004). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to assess the performance of the prediction tool.Results475(9.2%) patients had a prolonged ICU stay in the development dataset. Variables identified as risk factors for a prolonged ICU stay included renal dysfunction, unstable angina, poor ejection fraction, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, increasing age, smoking, diabetes, priority, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, and use of CPB. In the validation dataset, 8.1% patients had a prolonged ICU stay compared to 8.7% expected. The ROC curve for the development and validation datasets was 0.72 and 0.74 respectively.ConclusionA prediction tool has been developed which is reliable and valid. The tool is being piloted at our institution to aid resource management.

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Severe pulmonary dysfunction is a commonly occurring postoperative complication following cardiac surgery. Resection of a lung causes major anatomical and physiological changes. Shift of the mediastinum and reduction in respiratory function following pneumonectomy makes cardiac surgery challenging not only for the surgeon but also for the anaesthetist. With improvement in life expectancy and better results following cardiac and pulmonary operations increasing number of patients are likely to be subjected to both of these operations during their lifetime.There is paucity of data in the literature on the subject of cardiac surgery subsequent to previous pneumonectomy. We report our experience on performing cardiac surgery following pneumonectomy to highlight certain important features that we think are important while managing these patients.

The irreversible calmodulin antagonist fluphenazine has potential to be developed as an inhibitor of contraction in arterial graft vessels. The involvement of Rho kinase indicates that other vasoconstrictors and surgical stress can sensitize radial artery to vasopressin-induced contraction. Strategies targeting this pathway also have future potential.

The aim of the study was to examine midterm survival in patients who required prolonged recovery in the intensive care unit. The 5,186 consecutive patients who underwent isolated coronary surgery between April 1997 and March 2002 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified as having prolonged (>3 days) or normal (

A 41-year old non-smoking woman presented with persistent pleural effusion. Pleural fluid was hemorrhagic and fluid cytology was negative for malignant cells. A working diagnosis of chronic haemothorax was made and standard right thoracotomy was performed to identify the source of bleeding. A 10 × 10 cms poorly circumscribed mass containing blood clots, altered blood, fibrous tissue, and gelatinous debris was found and demonstrated features of inflammatory myofibroblastoma on immunohistochemistry. Thirteen months later, the patient developed a local recurrence, which was treated surgically. Semi-solid physical appearance of this tumour has not been reported previously. This case report further adds to the diagnostic dilemma related with this tumour.

A 4-month-old male infant underwent elective repair of a large subaortic ventricular septal defect. Although it was an uneventful surgical procedure, he required inotropic support during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. He presented with sudden-onset low cardiac output syndrome in the immediate postoperative period and could not be revived. Autopsy revealed intussusception of the left atrial appendage projecting through the mitral valve orifice.

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