Incidence of and factors associated with perioperative cardiac arrest within 24 hours of anesthesia for emergency surgery

Mortality and cardiac arrest rates of emergency surgery in developed and developing countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The magnitude of the risk of death and cardiac arrest associated with emergency surgery and anesthesia is not well understood. Our aim was to assess whether the risk of perioperative and anesthesia-related death and cardiac arrest has decreased over the years, and whether the rates of decrease are consistent between developed and developing countries.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed using electronic databases to identify studies in which patients underwent emergency surgery with rates of perioperative mortality, 30-day postoperative mortality, or perioperative cardiac arrest. Meta-regression and proportional meta-analysis with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed to evaluate global data on the above three indicators over time and according to country Human Development Index (HDI), and to compare these results according to country HDI status (low vs. high HDI) and time period (pre-2000s vs. post-2000s).

RESULTS

35 studies met the inclusion criteria, representing more than 3.09 million anesthetic administrations to patients undergoing anesthesia for emergency surgery. Meta-regression showed a significant association between the risk of perioperative mortality and time (slope: -0.0421, 95%CI: from - 0.0685 to -0.0157; P = 0.0018). Perioperative mortality decreased over time from 227 per 10,000 (95% CI 134-380) before the 2000s to 46 (16-132) in the 2000-2020 s (p < 0-0001), but not with increasing HDI. 30-day postoperative mortality did not change significantly (346 [95% CI: 303-395] before the 2000s to 292 [95% CI: 201-423] in the 2000s-2020 period, P = 0.36) and did not decrease with increasing HDI status. Perioperative cardiac arrest rates decreased over time, from 113 per 10,000 (95% CI: 31-409) before the 2000s to 31 (14-70) in the 2000-2020 s, and also with increasing HDI (68 [95% CI: 29-160] in the low-HDI group to 21 [95% CI: 6-76] in the high-HDI group, P = 0.012).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite increasing baseline patient risk, perioperative mortality has decreased significantly over the past decades, but 30-day postoperative mortality has not. A global priority should be to increase long-term survival in both developed and developing countries and to reduce overall perioperative cardiac arrest through evidence-based best practice in developing countries.

Cardiac arrest during cornea transplant surgery

This paper describes a case of cardiac arrest during femtosecond laser enabled penetrating keratoplasty (FLEK) in a young, healthy patient with no known cardiac risk factors and discusses the risk of cardiac arrest during intraocular surgery. A healthy 22-year-old man who underwent repeat FLEK under general anaesthesia developed bradycardia and subsequent cardiac arrest while open sky during surgery. After resuscitation and completion of the transplant surgery, the patient recovered and the graft has survived with excellent uncorrected visual acuity over 1 year after surgery. Understanding the risks of cardiac arrest and death during intraocular surgery is imperative to discussing the systemic risks of surgery during the preoperative informed consent.

Analysis of perioperative cardiac arrest in a rural hospital in Korea

Background

Perioperative cardiac arrest has been studied in many countries but few related studies have been conducted in Korea. Previous studies were not applicable to rural hospitals due to differences in the demographics between the regions. In the present study, the incidence, mortality, and related factors of perioperative cardiac arrest in a hospital in Youngdong province were analyzed and compared with previous research.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted from the January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2018, on patients who underwent both anesthesia and surgery in our hospital. Patients who received local anesthesia were not included in the study. The collected data included the patient characteristics, anesthesia methods, the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, surgical department, emergency status, traumatic status, pre- and post-cardiac arrest medical records, and patient outcomes.

Results

A total of 57,746 patients received anesthesia and underwent surgery during the study period, and 28 patients (4.85 per 10,000 anesthesia cases) received cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation (CPCR) during or within 24 h of surgery. Eight patients survived and twenty patients died (3.46 per 10,000 anesthesia cases). There were three anesthesia-related arrests and all of these patients survived. When limiting the analysis to patients with intraoperative CPCR, the incidence and mortality were 1.56, and 1.39 per 10,000 anesthesia cases, respectively.

Conclusions

The incidence and mortality of perioperative cardiac arrest in our hospital were higher than those in a recent study in Seoul, demonstrating a regional gap in Korea.

Do the Care Process and Survival Chances Differ in Patients Arriving to a Level 1 Indian Trauma Center, during-Hours and after-Hours?

Introduction

Trauma systems vary in performance during different time periods and may affect the patient outcomes, especially in resource-limited settings. The present study was undertaken to study the pattern, epidemiological profile, processes of care variations of trauma victims presenting during-hours and after-hours in a level 1 trauma Center of a lower middle-income country.

Methodology

Retrospective analyses of prospectively collected data registry at a single tertiary care center. Data collected from 2013 to 2015 were analyzed. Patients with a history of trauma and admission to the center or death between arrival and admission were included. Isolated limb injury and patients dead on arrival were excluded.

Results

Of 4692, 1789 (38.1%) patients arrived and were admitted during-hours and 2903 (61.9%) after-hours. The overall in-hospital mortality was 14.9% in the cohort. Moreover, it was 16.10% during after-hours in comparison to 13.0% during-hours. The Revised Trauma Score was statistically different during-hours and after-hours suggesting patients with greater physiological derangement after-hours. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves for 7 days were comparable in two groups with the log-rank test of 078. The proportion of initial radiological investigations (chest X-ray, focused assessment sonography in trauma [FAST], and computerized tomography [CT] scans) was ranged from 84.9% for CT scans in the cohort to 99.3% for FAST.

Conclusions

Processes of care do not differ significantly for the patients admitted at a level 1 trauma center irrespective of time of the day. Although survival probability for the initial 7 days of follow-up is comparable between two groups; however, for 30 and 90 days of follow-up they are significantly different between during-hours and after-hours, likely due to injury severity.

Incidences and factors associated with perioperative cardiac arrest in trauma patients receiving anesthesia

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine the incidences and factors associated with perioperative cardiac arrest in trauma patients who received anesthesia for emergency surgery.

Patients and methods

This retrospective cohort study was approved by the medical ethical committee, Faculty of Medicine, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Thailand. Data of 19,683 trauma patients who received anesthesia between January 2007 and December 2016, such as patient characteristics, surgery procedures, anesthesia information, anesthetic drugs, and cardiac arrest outcomes, were analyzed. Data of patients receiving local anesthesia by surgeons or monitoring anesthesia care (MAC) and those with much information missing were excluded. Factors associated with perioperative cardiac arrest were identified using univariate analysis and the multiple regression model. A stepwise algorithm was chosen at a P-value of <0.20 which was selected for multivariate analysis. A P-value of <0.05 was concluded as statistically significant.

Results

The perioperative cardiac arrest in trauma patients receiving anesthesia for emergency surgery was 170.04 per 10,000 cases. Factors associated with perioperative cardiac arrest in trauma patients were as follows: age >65 years (risk ratio [RR] =1.41, CI =1.02–1.96, P=0.039), American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status 3 or higher (ASA physical status 3–4, RR =4.19, CI =2.09–8.38, P<0.001; ASA physical status 5–6, RR =21.58, CI =10.36–44.94, P<0.001), sites of surgery (intracranial, intrathoracic, upper intra-abdominal, and major vascular, each P<0.001), cardiopulmonary comorbidities (RR =1.55, CI =1.10–2.17, P=0.012), hemodynamic instability with shock prior to receiving anesthesia (RR =1.60, CI =1.21–2.11, P<0.001), and having a history of alcoholism (RR =5.27, CI =4.09–6.79, P<0.001).

Conclusion

The incidence of perioperative cardiac arrest in trauma patients receiving anesthesia for emergency surgery was very high and correlated with patient’s factors, especially old age and cardiopulmonary comorbidities, a history of drinking alcohol, increased ASA physical status, hemodynamic instability with shock prior to surgery, and sites of surgery such as brain, thorax, abdomen, and the major vascular region. Anesthesiologists and surgeons should be aware of a warning system and a well-equipped track to manage the surgical trauma patients.

Prognostic factors for death and survival with or without complications in cardiac arrest patients receiving CPR within 24 hours of anesthesia for emergency surgery

Purpose

To determine prognostic factors for death and survival with or without complications in cardiac arrest patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within 24 hours of receiving anesthesia for emergency surgery.

Patients and methods

A retrospective cohort study approved by the Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai University Hospital Ethical Committee. Data used were taken from records of 751 cardiac arrest patients who received their first CPR within 24 hours of anesthesia for emergency surgery between January 1, 2003 and October 31, 2011. The reviewed data included patient characteristics, surgical procedures, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status classification, anesthesia information, the timing of cardiac arrest, CPR details, and outcomes at 24 hours after CPR. Univariate and polytomous logistic regression analyses were used to determine prognostic factors associated with the outcome variable. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results

The outcomes at 24 hours were death (638/751, 85.0%), survival with complications (73/751, 9.7%), and survival without complications (40/751, 5.3%). The prognostic factors associated with death were: age between 13–34 years (OR =3.08, 95% CI =1.03–9.19); ASA physical status three and higher (OR =6.60, 95% CI =2.17–20.13); precardiopulmonary comorbidity (OR =3.28, 95% CI =1.09–9.90); the condition of patients who were on mechanical ventilation prior to receiving anesthesia (OR =4.11, 95% CI =1.17–14.38); surgery in the upper abdominal site (OR =14.64, 95% CI =2.83–75.82); shock prior to cardiac arrest (OR =6.24, 95% CI =2.53–15.36); nonshockable electrocardiography (EKG) rhythm (OR =5.67, 95% CI =1.93–16.62); cardiac arrest occurring in postoperative period (OR =7.35, 95% CI =2.89–18.74); and duration of CPR more than 30 minutes (OR =4.32, 95% CI =1.39–13.45). The prognostic factors associated with survival with complications were being greater than or equal to 65 years of age (OR =4.30, 95% CI =1.13–16.42), upper abdominal site of surgery (OR =10.86, 95% CI =1.99–59.13), shock prior to cardiac arrest (OR =3.62, 95% CI =1.30–10.12), arrhythmia prior to cardiac arrest (OR =4.61, 95% CI =1.01–21.13), and cardiac arrest occurring in the postoperative period (OR =3.63, 95% CI =1.31–10.02).

Conclusion

The mortality and morbidity in patients who received anesthesia for emergency surgery within 24 hours of their first CPR were high, and were associated with identifiable patient comorbidity, age, shock, anatomic site of operation, the timing of cardiac arrest, EKG rhythm, and the duration of CPR. EKG monitoring helps to identify cardiac arrest quickly and diagnose the EKG rhythm as a shockable or nonshockable rhythm, with CPR being performed as per the American Heart Association (AHA) CPR Guidelines 2010. The use of the fast track system in combination with an interdisciplinary team for surgery, CPR, and postoperative care helps to rescue patients in a short time.