A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the accuracy of determination of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for the diagnosis of bacterial infection. The analysis included published studies that evaluated these markers for the diagnosis of bacterial infections in hospitalized patients. PCT level was more sensitive (88% [95% confidence interval [CI], 80%-93%] vs. 75% [95% CI, 62%-84%]) and more specific (81% [95% CI, 67%-90%] vs. 67% [95% CI, 56%-77%]) than CRP level for differentiating bacterial from noninfective causes of inflammation. The Q value for PCT markers was higher (0.82 vs. 0.73). The sensitivity for differentiating bacterial from viral infections was also higher for PCT markers (92% [95% CI, 86%-95%] vs. 86% [95% CI, 65%-95%]); the specificities were comparable (73% [95% CI, 42%-91%] vs. 70% [95% CI, 19%-96%]). The Q value was higher for PCT markers (0.89 vs. 0.83). PCT markers also had a higher positive likelihood ratio and lower negative likelihood ratio than did CRP markers in both groups. On the basis of this analysis, the diagnostic accuracy of PCT markers was higher than that of CRP markers among patients hospitalized for suspected bacterial infections.

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Serum Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein Levels as Markers of Bacterial Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background The majority of patients undergoing surgical treatment for ST-elevation myocardial infarction receive antifibrinolytic therapy to limit blood loss. This approach appears counterintuitive to the accepted medical treatment of the same condition — namely, fibrinolysis to limit thrombosis. Despite this concern, no independent, large-scale safety assessment has been undertaken. Methods In this observational study involving 4374 patients undergoing revascularization, we prospectively assessed three agents (aprotinin [1295 patients], aminocaproic acid [883], and tranexamic acid [822]) as compared with no agent (1374 patients) with regard to serious outcomes by propensity and multivariable methods. (Although aprotinin is a serine protease inhibitor, here we use the term antifibrinolytic therapy to include all three agents.) Results In propensity-adjusted, multivariable logistic regression (C-index, 0.72), use of aprotinin was associated with a doubling in the risk of renal failure requiring dialysis am...

The risk associated with aprotinin in cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Concerns regarding the safety of transfused blood have led to the development of a range of interventions to minimise blood loss during major surgery. Anti-fibrinolytic drugs are widely used, particularly in cardiac surgery, and previous reviews have found them to be effective in reducing blood loss, the need for transfusion, and the need for re-operation due to continued or recurrent bleeding. In the last few years questions have been raised regarding the comparative performance of the drugs. The safety of the most popular agent, aprotinin, has been challenged, and it was withdrawn from world markets in May 2008 because of concerns that it increased the risk of cardiovascular complications and death. OBJECTIVES: To assess the comparative effects of the anti-fibrinolytic drugs aprotinin, tranexamic acid (TXA), and epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) on blood loss during surgery, the need for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, and adverse events, particularly vascular occlusion, renal dysfunction, and death. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched: the Cochrane Injuries Group's Specialised Register (July 2010), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 3), MEDLINE (Ovid SP) 1950 to July 2010, EMBASE (Ovid SP) 1980 to July 2010. References in identified trials and review articles were checked and trial authors were contacted to identify any additional studies. The searches were last updated in July 2010. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of anti-fibrinolytic drugs in adults scheduled for non-urgent surgery. Eligible trials compared anti-fibrinolytic drugs with placebo (or no treatment), or with each other. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS: This review summarises data from 252 RCTs that recruited over 25,000 participants. Data from the head-to-head trials suggest an advantage of aprotinin over the lysine analogues TXA and EACA in terms of reducing perioperative blood loss, but the differences were small. Compared to control, aprotinin reduced the probability of requiring RBC transfusion by a relative 34% (relative risk [RR] 0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.60 to 0.72). The RR for RBC transfusion with TXA was 0.61 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.70) and was 0.81 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.99) with EACA. When the pooled estimates from the head-to-head trials of the two lysine analogues were combined and compared to aprotinin alone, aprotinin appeared more effective in reducing the need for RBC transfusion (RR 0.90; 95% CI 0.81 to 0.99).Aprotinin reduced the need for re-operation due to bleeding by a relative 54% (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.62). This translates into an absolute risk reduction of 2% and a number needed-to-treat (NNT) of 50 (95% CI 33 to 100). A similar trend was seen with EACA (RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.99) but not TXA (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.17). The blood transfusion data were heterogeneous and funnel plots indicate that trials of aprotinin and the lysine analogues may be subject to publication bias.When compared with no treatment aprotinin did not increase the risk of myocardial infarction (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.11), stroke (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.52), renal dysfunction (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.54) or overall mortality (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.06). Similar trends were seen with the lysine analogues, but data were sparse. These data conflict with the results of recently published non-randomised studies, which found increased risk of cardiovascular complications and death with aprotinin. There are concerns about the adequacy of reporting of uncommon events in the small clinical trials included in this review.When aprotinin was compared directly with either, or both, of the two lysine analogues it resulted in a significant increase in the risk of death (RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.02, 1.89), and a non-significant increase in the risk of myocardial infarction (RR 1.11 95% CI 0.82, 1.50). Most of the data contributing to this added risk came from a single study - the BART trial (2008). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Anti-fibrinolytic drugs provide worthwhile reductions in blood loss and the receipt of allogeneic red cell transfusion. Aprotinin appears to be slightly more effective than the lysine analogues in reducing blood loss and the receipt of blood transfusion. However, head to head comparisons show a lower risk of death with lysine analogues when compared with aprotinin. The lysine analogues are effective in reducing blood loss during and after surgery, and appear to be free of serious adverse effects.

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Anti-fibrinolytic use for minimising perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion

http://cardiacanaesthesia.in/assets/img/guidelines/Perioperative-Blood-Transfusion-and-Blood-Conservation-in-Cardiac-Surgery.pdf

Perioperative blood transfusion and blood conservation in cardiac surgery: the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists clinical practice guideline.

Computational Analysis of Microarray Data

Objective: C-Reactive protein (CRP) is known to be a sensitive indicator of infection. Since it is also involved in the acute phase reaction, it is of great interest, whether an isolated preoperative increase of CRP without further signs of infection is of any prognostic value for postoperative outcome after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), which itself is possibly causing a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Methods: Fifty patients with an isolated CRP-elevation (>5 mg/l) (from 6.2 to 93.3 mg/l) were operated using CPB (group A). A control group (group B) consisted of 50 cardiac surgery patients, matched in the patterns of age, gender and kind of disease. No preoperative CRP-elevation (from 0 to 4.8 mg/l) occurred in this group. Results: The postoperative course of both groups showed significant differences. Septic complications were seen more often in group A (20%) than in the controls (2%) (P < 0.01). Microbiology (blood culture, cultures from nose, tracheal aspirate and urine) was positive only in 10% of these patients. Catecholamine support (epinephrine, norepinephrine and/or doses of dopamine or dobutamine of more than 3 μg/kg per min) was needed in 26% of group A cases, whereas it was only needed in 10% of group B (P < 0.05). A significantly longer respiratory support was also necessary in patients with elevated CRP (25.2 ± 6.4 h vs. 6.6 ± 0.8 h) (P < 0.01). Furthermore there was a significant difference in the duration of intensive care (4.6 ± 0.8 days vs. 2.6 ± 0.3 days) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These data show that patients without apparent infection or inflammation, who had elevated CRP-values preoperatively, face an increased risk of septic complications after extracorporeal circulation. As microbiology tests are negative in most cases, it may be speculated that the majority of septic complications are due to a SIRS.

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Increased preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP)-values without signs of an infection and complicated course after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)-operations

Pulsatile extracorporeal circulation during on-pump cardiac surgery enhances aortic wall shear stress.

BACKGROUND The indications for intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in the case of a failing right ventricle after operations with extracorporeal circulation (ECC) are still discussed controversially. We investigated the benefit of IABP in patients with a predominantly right ventricular dysfunction after ECC. Additionally, we wanted to identify early and easily available prognostic markers for outcome in all patients receiving IABP support. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1/2004 and 1/2008, 4550 patients underwent cardiac surgical procedures with ECC, 223 of whom (4.9 %) had an IABP inserted intra- or postoperatively (group 1). 79 of these patients were treated intraoperatively with IABP for early postoperative low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) characterized by predominantly right ventricular failure (RV group). Clinical data and hemodynamic variables were recorded perioperatively. Multiple potential markers of mortality and postoperative complications were analyzed statistically, especially with regard to their predictive ability. RESULTS 68 % of all IABP patients were successfully weaned from IABP support and 63 % survived to hospital discharge. In the RV group, cardiac index (CI) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) increased (CI 1.8 +/- 0.2 to 2.8 +/- 0.2, MAP 53 +/- 10 to 73 +/- 8, P 17 mmHg or a mixed venous saturation (SVO (2)) < 65 % had poor outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In patients with IABP support for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock, elevated serum lactate, elevated base deficit, hypotension, oliguria and large vasopressor doses are all predictors of mortality. In these patients, the use of another mechanical assist device should be considered in good time. Our study additionally shows that LCOS caused by predominantly right ventricular failure - particularly after CABG - may be an additional indication for IABP.

Intraaortic balloon pumping in patients with right ventricular insufficiency after cardiac surgery: parameters to predict failure of IABP Support.

Objectives: Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) is an intracellular molecule engaged in the transport of fatty acids through myocardial cytoplasm and has been used as a rapid marker of myocardial infarction. However, its value in the evaluation of perioperative myocardial injury has not yet been assessed. Methods: 32 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were included in a prospective, randomized study using standardized operative procedures and myocardial protection. Three patients with perioperative myocardial infarction were added. Serial blood samples were taken preoperatively, before ischemia, 5 and 60 min after declamping, 1 and 6 h postoperatively and on postoperative days 1, 2 and 10 and were tested for hFABP, creatin kinase isoenzyme MB (CKMB) and troponin I (TnI). Results: Hospital mortality was zero. The kinetics of the biochemical parameters revealed a typical pattern for each marker. In routine patients, hFABP levels peaked as early as 1 h after declamping, whereas CKMB and TnI peaked only 1 h after arrival in the intensive care unit. Patients with perioperative infarction displayed peak levels some hours later in all marker proteins. Peak serum levels of hFABP correlated significantly with peak levels of CKMB (ra 0:436, Pa 0:011) and TnI (ra 0:548, Pa 0:001), indicating the degree of myocardial damage. Conclusions: hFABP is a rapid marker of perioperative myocardial damage and peaks earlier than CKMB or TnI. The kinetics of marker proteins in serial samples immediately after reperfusion is more suitable for the detection of perioperative myocardial infarction than a fixed cut-off level. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) in the diagnosis of myocardial damage in coronary artery bypass grafting.

Markers of Activated Hemostasis and Fibrinolysis in Patients with Pulmonary Malignancies: Comparison of Plasma Levels in Central Venous and Pulmonary Venous Blood

Peter Feindt

Papers

Increased preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP)-values without signs of an infection and complicated course after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)-operations

Pulsatile extracorporeal circulation during on-pump cardiac surgery enhances aortic wall shear stress.

Intraaortic balloon pumping in patients with right ventricular insufficiency after cardiac surgery: parameters to predict failure of IABP Support.

Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) in the diagnosis of myocardial damage in coronary artery bypass grafting.

Markers of Activated Hemostasis and Fibrinolysis in Patients with Pulmonary Malignancies: Comparison of Plasma Levels in Central Venous and Pulmonary Venous Blood