Year in Review 2020: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology

Year in Review 2024: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiac Anesthesiology

The research findings relevant for Cardiac Anesthesiology studies published in 2024 involved key innovations in devices and gene therapy in addition to the expansion of transcatheter techniques for valve repair or replacement. We reviewed 447 relevant articles and selected 21 as the most noteworthy studies published in 2024. Themes that emerged from our review include the etiology and prevention of delirium or outcomes after mechanical circulatory support. Robust clinical outcome data now supports the use of microaxial flow devices for mechanical circulatory support for cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction. Pharmacology development presents colchicine as anti-inflammatory medication to prevent atrial fibrillation or intravenous amino acids for kidney protection after cardiopulmonary bypass. Technological advances include implantable wireless pacing-defibrillator devices, pulmonary artery pressure monitoring in heart failure patients, extracorporeal blood purification for preventing acute kidney injury and hypothermic oxygenated perfusion of the donor heart in heart transplantation. Transcatheter interventions on mitral or aortic valve were gaining advances over surgical procedures. Novel paradigms included treatments with gene therapy for cardiac amyloidosis or refractory angina and the emerging risk of microplastic exposure in cardiovascular events.

Year in Review 2023: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiac Anesthesiology

Notable clinical research published in 2023 related to cardiac anesthesia included studies focused on resuscitation and pharmacology, regional anesthesia, technological advances, and novel gene therapies. We reviewed 241 articles to identify 25 noteworthy studies that represent the most significant research related to cardiac anesthesia from the past year. Overall, improvements in clinical practice have enabled decreased morbidity and mortality with a renewed focus on mechanical circulatory support and transplantation.

Year in Review 2021: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia

In 2021, progress in clinical science related to Cardiac Anesthesiology continued, but at a slower rate due to the ongoing pandemic and disruptions to clinical research. Most progress was incremental and addressed persistent questions related to our field. To identify articles for this review, we completed a structured review using our previously reported methods (1). Specifically, we used the search terms: "cardiac anesthesiology and outcomes" (n = 177), "cardiothoracic anesthesiology" (n = 34), "cardiac anesthesia," and "clinical outcomes" (n = 42) filtered on clinical trials and the year 2021 in PubMed. We also reviewed clinical trials from the most prominent clinical journals to identify additional studies for a narrative review. We then selected the most noteworthy publications for inclusion in this review and identified key themes.