Cardiac Surgery–Specific Screening Tool Identifies Preoperative Undernutrition in Cardiac Surgery

Thoracic sarcopenia predicts clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: A 6-year cohort study

BACKGROUND

The relationship between thoracic sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is unclear. This study aims to evaluate whether thoracic sarcopenia has a satisfactory prognostic effect on adverse outcomes after CABG.

METHODS

From December 2015 to May 2021, 338 patients who underwent isolated CABG at our institution were recruited in this study. Skeletal muscle area at T12 level acquired by chest computed tomography (CT) was normalized to assess thoracic sarcopenia. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the risk factors of postoperative complications and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

The prevalence of thoracic sarcopenia in patients underwent CABG was 13.02%. The incidence of total major complication was significantly higher in thoracic sarcopenia group (81.8% vs 61.9%, p = 0.010). Thoracic sarcopenic patients also had longer postoperative hospital stays (p = 0.047), intensive care unit (ICU) stays (p = 0.001), higher costs (p = 0.001) and readmission rates within 30 days of discharge (18.2% vs 4.4%, p = 0.001). Patients without thoracic sarcopenia showed significantly higher OS at the 2-year follow-up period (93.9% vs 72.7%, p<0.001). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that thoracic sarcopenia was significantly and independently associated with postoperative complications and long-term OS after CABG.

CONCLUSION

Thoracic sarcopenia is an effective clinical predictor of adverse postoperative complications and long-term OS in patients underwent CABG. Thoracic sarcopenia based on chest CT should be included in preoperative risk assessment of CABG.

Peri-operative nutrition in cardiovascular surgery: current pitfalls and future directions

In the field of cardiovascular surgery, many areas are frequently evaluated to improve patient outcomes. Even though cardiac surgery has advanced significantly, peri-operative nutrition remains an area needing special attention and is under-considered in patient results. The three portions of cardiac surgical nutrition optimization are pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative. All these, merit important clinical intervention which when done properly can significantly improve patient recovery and reduce morbidity and mortality. Here we provide a narrative review and recommendations for peri-operative nutritional optimization in cardiac surgery.

Malnutrition in patients admitted to in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation: Clinical correlates and association with mortality

Malnutrition is highly prevalent among hospitalized patients; thus, an accurate identification of malnutrition could improve the outcome of these patients. The aim of the present paper was to apply multiple methods to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and clinical correlates in patients admitted to in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation.  We performed a prospective study of 426 patients admitted to in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation: 282 (66.2%) had undergone a major cardiac surgery and 144 (34.8%) had experienced heart failure. The albumin level and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scores were applied to evaluate the nutritional status of these patients. Serum albumin levels were < 3.5 g/dl in 147 (34.5%) patients, and MNA scores were < 24 in 179 (42.0%) patients. Patients with malnutrition or a risk of malnutrition had lower haemoglobin values, lower EuroQol scores and poorer functional status. Female gender, age, functional status and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale severity were predictors of malnutrition. Over a median follow-up of 47 months, MNA scores <24 were associated with higher mortality, even after correction for confounding variables. In conclusion, in patients admitted to in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation, malnutrition and risk of malnutrition frequently occur and are associated with poor functional status, higher clinical complication rates and long-term mortality.

Effects of malnutrition on long-term survival in adult patients after elective cardiac surgery

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between malnutrition and long-term survival in patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

METHODS

This study analyzed the long-term survival data of a mixed cohort of 1187 cardiac patients previously enrolled in a prospective observational study of nutritional screening in cardiac surgery. Nutritional status was assessed using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). The mean age of patients was 58.86 ± 10.07 y (95% confidence interval [CI], 58.2-59.4). The median time of follow-up was 73.4 mo (25th-75th percentiles, 18.3-101.3).

RESULTS

In all, 449 patients (37.8%) were lost to follow-up after hospitalization. For the remaining participants, the overall 8-y survival was 68% (95% CI, 59-76) and 77% (95% CI, 73-80; log-rank, P = 0.12) in patients with and without malnutrition risk, respectively. Statistically significant differences in survival were found during the 3-y follow-up of patients with heart valve disease: 83% (95% CI, 74-92) with malnutrition versus 93% (95% CI, 90-96) without malnutrition (log-rank, P = 0.03). The final multivariate Cox regression model revealed logistic EuroSCORE (hazard ratio (HR), 1.337; 95% CI, 1.110-1.612), cardiopulmonary bypass time <110.5 min (HR 0.463, 95% CI 0.255-0.842), preoperative albumin (HR 0.799, 95% CI 0.691-0.924), and C-reactive protein (HR, 1.106; 95% CI, 1.018-1.202) as independent predictors of 3-y survival.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative malnutrition is not associated with 8-y mortality in a mixed cardiac surgery cohort. However, it may be associated with worse 3-y outcomes in patients with heart valve disease.

Nutritional Considerations of Cardiovascular Diseases and Treatments

Nutritional considerations of many chronic diseases are not fully understood or taken into consideration in everyday clinical practice. Therefore, it is not surprising that high proportion of hospitalized patients with cardiovascular diseases remains underdiagnosed with malnutrition. Malnourished patients have increased risk of poor clinical outcomes, complications rate, prolonged hospital stay, more frequent rehospitalizations, and lower quality of life. The purpose of this review is to recapitulate recent data on nutritional considerations in cardiovascular medicine.

Concordance of the new ESPEN criteria with low phase angle in defining early stages of malnutrition in cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND & AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of malnutrition (MN) in cardiac surgery patients by implementing the new ESPEN diagnostic criteria and to determine whether these criteria are concordant with the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) provided phase angle (PA) in predicting early stages of malnutrition.

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted in a tertiary hospital. The nutritional state of the cardiac surgery patients was evaluated one day prior to cardiac surgery using the malnutrition screening tools NRS-2002, MUST and SF-MNA, and bioelectrical impedance analysis. Patients at risk of malnutrition were further studied in accordance with the ESPEN malnutrition diagnostic criteria. A BIA provided PA value of less than the 15th percentile of the age and gender group was set as a theoretical marker of early malnutrition. ROC AUC (receiver operating characteristic area under curve) analysis and other parameters were calculated to determine the concordance between the new ESPEN malnutrition diagnostic criteria and a low PA.

RESULTS

The study comprised 549 enrolled cardiac surgery patients. MN or risk of MN in accordance with at least one nutritional status assessment tool was diagnosed in 372 (67.75%) patients. MN, according to the new ESPEN malnutrition diagnostic criteria, was only diagnosed in 31 (5.6%) patients. Low PA was detected in 124 patients (22.6%), providing a higher MN rate. The ROC analysis and other concordance parameters showed that the new ESPEN diagnostic criteria (AUC 0.560, p = 0.042) were not concordant with a low PA.

CONCLUSION

Fewer patients are classified as malnourished by the new ESPEN definition as those identified by the BIA provided PA. Incorporation of the BIA provided PA into the new ESPEN definition may aid to diagnose the early stages of MN in the field of cardiac surgery.