The epidemiology and outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention before high-risk noncardiac surgery in contemporary practice: insights from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2) Registry

Patient, provider, and system-level factors associated with preoperative cardiac testing: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Overuse of preoperative cardiac testing contributes to high healthcare costs and delayed surgeries. A large body of research has evaluated factors associated with variation in preoperative cardiac testing. However, patient, provider, and system-level factors associated with variation in testing have not been systematically studied.

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a systematic review to better delineate the patient, provider, and system-level factors associated with variation in preoperative cardiac testing.

METHODS

We included studies of an adult US population evaluating a patient, provider, or system-level factor associated with variation in preoperative cardiac testing for noncardiac surgery since 2012. Our search strategy used terms related to preoperative testing, diagnostic cardiac tests, and care variation with Ovid MEDLINE and Embase from inception through January 2023. We extracted study characteristics and factors associated with variation and qualitatively analyzed them. We assessed risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and Evidence Project Risk of Bias tool.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight articles met inclusion criteria. Older age and higher comorbidity were strongly associated with higher-intensity testing. The evidence for provider and system-level covariates was weaker. However, there was strong evidence that a focus on primary care and away from preoperative clinic and cardiac consultations was associated with less testing and that interventions to reduce low-value testing can be successful.

CONCLUSIONS

There is significant interprovider and interhospital variation in preoperative cardiac testing, the correlates of which are not well-defined. Further work should aim to better understand these factors.

Anesthetic Management of Renal Cell Carcinoma With Level 3 Inferior Vena Cava Extension in a Patient With Severe Coronary Artery Disease

A 49-year-old male with untreated type 2 diabetes and a family history of coronary artery disease (CAD) presented with right flank pain and profound progressive dyspnea on exertion to the emergency department of Ben Taub Hospital, a tertiary county hospital. Workup revealed right renal cell carcinoma with metastatic extension into the inferior vena cava (IVC). In addition, the patient had significant CAD with 95% occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery amenable to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). After multidisciplinary discussions involving cardiovascular anesthesiology, cardiology, urology, and cardiothoracic surgery, it was estimated that the mortality benefit of immediate tumor resection outweighed the patient's need for PCI and further cardiac optimization. The patient underwent curative resection and thrombectomy under transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) guidance without complication, made an expedient recovery, and was discharged home on postoperative day seven.

Coronary Angiography and Revascularization Prior to Noncardiac Surgery

OPINION STATEMENT

The role of coronary angiography and revascularization, including percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) prior to noncardiac surgery remains poorly defined. The goal of preoperative angiography and PCI is improved risk stratification and ideally risk reduction of postoperative cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction (MI). By current guidelines, these procedures should be performed sparingly in high-risk stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and routinely in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Anatomic assessment of CAD by routine invasive angiography is discouraged, although noninvasive assessment may soon be possible. As prior trials have failed to show a clear benefit in outcomes, PCI should only be considered in patients with high-risk anatomic features. The ideal management of other anatomic disease discovered by angiography is currently unknown. Limited registry data suggest that PCI is used more frequently than recommended, although the features of these procedures remain poorly elaborated. In patients who do undergo preoperative PCI, careful attention must be paid to patient-specific factors including the nature and urgency of surgery and duration of dual antiplatelet therapy. In summary, substantial evidence gaps warrant further research in this important area.