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Background: Differences in medical treatment between women and men are common and involve out-of-hospital emergency care, the intensity of pain treatment, and the use of antifibrinolytic treatment in emergency trauma patients. If woman and man receive different antifibrinolytic treatment in highly-standardized major transplant surgery is unknown., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients who underwent liver transplantation at Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany between 2004 and 2017. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine if sex is associated with the administration of TXA during liver transplantation. Secondary endpoints included venous thrombotic complications, graft failure, mortality, myocardial infarction, hepatic artery thrombosis, and stroke within the first 30 days after liver transplant as well as length of hospital stay and length of intensive care unit stay., Results: Out of 779 patients who underwent liver transplantation, 262 patients received TXA. Female sex was not associated with intraoperative administration of TXA [adjusted OR: 0.929 (95% CI 0.654; 1.320), p  = 0.681]. The secondary endpoints graft failure (13.2% vs. 8.4%, women vs. men, p  = 0.039), pulmonary embolism (3.4% vs. 0.9%, women vs. men, p  = 0.012), stroke (1.7% vs. 0.4%, women vs. men, p  = 0.049), and deep vein thrombosis (0.8% vs. 0%, women vs. men, p  = 0.031) within 30 days after liver transplantation were more frequent in women. Mortality, myocardial infarction, and other secondary endpoints did not differ between groups. However, in women, the use of TXA was associated with a lower rate in thromboembolic complications., Conclusion: Our data indicate that different from other scenarios with massive bleeding complications the administration of TXA during liver transplantation is not associated with sex. However, sex is associated with the risk for complications, and in woman TXA might have a preventive effect on the rate of thromboembolic complications. Reasons underlying the observed sex bias rate remain uncertain., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Dehne, Jackson-Gil, Riede, Feisst, Mehrabi, Michalski, Weigand, Decker and Larmann.)

Background: Intraoperative end-tidal carbon dioxide concentrations (EtCO 2 ) values are associated with recurrence-free survival after colorectal cancer surgery. However, it is unknown if similar effects can be observed after other surgical procedures. There is now evidence available for target EtCO 2 and its relation to surgical outcomes following pancreatic cancer surgery., Methods: In this single-center, retrospective cohort study, we analyzed 652 patients undergoing elective resection of pancreatic cancer at Heidelberg University Hospital between 2009 and 2016. The entire patient cohort was sorted in ascending order based on mean intraoperative EtCO 2 values and then divided into two groups: the high-EtCO 2 group and the low-EtCO2 group. The pre-specified primary endpoint was the assessment of recurrence-free survival up to the last known follow-up. Cardiovascular events, surgical site infections, sepsis, and reoperations during the hospital stay, as well as overall survival were pre-specified secondary outcomes., Results: Mean EtCO 2 was 33.8 mmHg ±1.1 in the low-EtCO 2 group vs. 36.8 mmHg ±1.9 in the high-EtCO 2 group. Median follow-up was 2.6 (Q1:1.4; Q3:4.4) years. Recurrence-free survival did not differ among the high and low-EtCO 2 groups [HR = 1.043 (95% CI: 0.875-1.243), log rank test: p = 0.909]. Factors affecting the primary endpoint were studied via Cox analysis, which indicated no correlation between mean EtCO 2 levels and recurrence-free survival [Coefficient -0.004, HR = 0.996 (95% CI:0.95-1.04); p = 0.871]. We did not identify any differences in the secondary endpoints, either., Conclusions: During elective pancreatic cancer surgery, anesthesiologists should set EtCO 2 targets for reasons other than oncological outcome until conclusive evidence from prospective, multicenter randomized controlled trials is available., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Dehne, Kirschner, Klotz, Kilian, Michalski, Hackert, Büchler, Weigand and Larmann.)

Background: Current clinical guidelines recommend antifibrinolytic treatment for liver transplantation to reduce blood loss and transfusion utilization. However, the clinical relevance of fibrinolysis during liver transplantation is questionable, a benefit of tranexamic acid (TXA) in this context is not supported by sufficient evidence, and adverse effects are also conceivable. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that use of TXA is associated with reduced blood loss., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study on patients who underwent liver transplantation between 2004 and 2017 at Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between TXA administration and the primary end point intraoperative blood loss and the secondary end point intra- and postoperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. For further secondary outcome analyses, the time to the first occurrence of a composite end point of hepatic artery thrombosis, portal vein thrombosis, and thrombosis of the inferior vena cava were analyzed using a univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards model., Results: Data from 779 transplantations were included in the final analysis. The median intraoperative blood loss was 3000 mL (1600-5500 mL). Intraoperative TXA administration occurred in 262 patients (33.6%) with an average dose of 1.4 ± 0.7 g and was not associated with intraoperative blood loss (regression coefficient B, -0.020 [-0.051 to 0.012], P = .226) or any of the secondary end points (intraoperative RBC transfusion; regression coefficient B, 0.023 [-0.006 to 0.053], P = .116), postoperative RBC transfusion (regression coefficient B, 0.007 [-0.032 to 0.046], P = .717), and occurrence of thrombosis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.110 [0.903-1.365], P = .321)., Conclusions: Our data do not support the use of TXA during liver transplantation. Physicians should exercise caution and consider individual factors when deciding whether or not to administer TXA., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Background: The American Heart Association (AHA) recently defined the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome (CKM) as a new entity to address the complex interactions between heart, kidneys, and metabolism. The aim of this study was to assess the outcome impact of CKM syndrome in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery., Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a prospective international cohort study including patients aged ≥45 years with increased cardiovascular risk undergoing noncardiac surgery. Main exposure was CKM syndrome according to the AHA definition. The primary end point was a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) 30 days after surgery. Secondary end points included all-cause mortality and non-MACE complications (Clavien-Dindo class ≥3)., Results: This analysis included 14,634 patients (60.8% male, mean age = 72±8 years). MACE occurred in 308 patients (2.1%), and 335 patients (2.3%) died. MACE incidence by CKM stage was as follows: CKM 0: 5/367 = 1.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4%-3.2%); CKM 1: 3/367 = 0.8% (95% CI, 0.2%-2.4%); CKM 2: 102/7440 = 1.4% (95% CI, 1.1%-1.7%); CKM 3: 27/953 = 2.8% (95% CI, 1.9%-4.1%); CKM 4a: 164/5357 = 3.1% (95% CI, 2.6%-3.6%); CKM 4b: 7/150 = 4.7% (95% CI, 1.9%-9.4%). In multivariate logistic regression, CKM stage ≥3 was independently associated with MACE, mortality, and non-MACE complications, respectively (MACE: OR 2.26 [95% CI, 1.78-2.87]; mortality: OR 1.42 [95% CI: 1.13 -1.78]; non-MACE complications: OR 1.11 [95% CI: 1.03-1.20])., Conclusion: The newly defined CKM syndrome is associated with increased morbidity and mortality after non-cardiac surgery. Thus, cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic disorders should be regarded in mutual context in this setting., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Study Objective: Higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) increase the invasive abilities of colon cancer cells in vitro. Studies assessing target values for end-tidal CO 2 concentrations (EtCO 2 ) to improve surgical outcome after colorectal cancer surgery are lacking. Therefore, we evaluated whether intraoperative EtCO 2 was associated with differences in recurrence-free survival after elective colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery., Design: Single center, retrospective analysis., Setting: Anesthesia records, surgical databases and hospital information system of a tertiary university hospital., Patients: We analyzed 528 patients undergoing elective resection of colorectal cancer at Heidelberg University Hospital between 2009 and 2018., Interventions: None., Measurements: Intraoperative mean EtCO 2 values were calculated. The study cohort was equally stratified into low-and high-EtCO 2 groups. The primary endpoint measure was recurrence-free survival until last known follow-up. Groups were compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox-regression analysis was used to control for covariates. Sepsis, reoperations, surgical site infections and cardiovascular events during hospital stay, and overall survival were secondary outcomes., Main Results: Mean EtCO 2 was 33.8 mmHg ±1.2 in the low- EtCO 2 group vs. 37.3 mmHg ±1.6 in the high-EtCO 2 group. Median follow-up was 3.8 (Q1-Q3, 2.5-5.1) years. Recurrence-free survival was higher in the low-EtCO 2 group (log-rank-test: p = .024). After correction for confounding factors, lower EtCO 2 was associated with increased recurrence-free survival (HR = 1.138, 95%-CI:1.015-1.276, p = .027); the hazard for the primary outcome decreased by 12.1% per 1 mmHg decrease in mean EtCO 2 . 1-year and 5-year survival was also higher in the low-EtCO 2 group. We did not find differences in the other secondary endpoints., Conclusions: Lower intraoperative EtCO 2 target values in CRC surgery might benefit oncological outcome and should be evaluated in confirmative studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cardiac risk evaluation prior to noncardiac surgery is fundamental to tailor peri-operative management to patient's estimated risk. Data on the degree of adherence to guidelines in patients at cardiovascular risk in Europe and factors influencing adherence are underexplored., Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to describe the degree of adherence to [2014 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) guidelines] recommendations on rest echocardiography [transthoracic echocardiography (TTE)] and to stress imaging prior to noncardiac surgery in a large European sample and to assess factors potentially affecting adherence., Design: Secondary analysis of a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study (MET-REPAIR)., Setting: Twenty-five European centres of all levels of care that enrolled patients between 2017 and 2020., Patients: With elevated cardiovascular risk undergoing in-hospital elective, noncardiac surgery., Main Outcome Measures: (Non)adherence to each pre-operative TTE and stress imaging recommendations classified as guideline-adherent, overuse and underuse. We performed descriptive analysis. To explore the impact of patients' sex, age, geographical region, and hospital teaching status, we conducted multivariate multinominal regression analysis., Results: Out of 15 983 patients, 15 529 were analysed (61% men, mean age 72 ± 8 years). Overuse (conduction in spite of class III) and underuse (nonconduction in spite of class I recommendation) for pre-operative TTE amounted to 16.6% (2542/15 344) and 6.6% (1015/15 344), respectively. Stress imaging overuse and underuse amounted to 1.7% (241/14 202) and 0.4% (52/14 202) respectively. Male sex, some age categories and some geographical regions were significantly associated with TTE overuse. Male sex and some regions were also associated with TTE underuse. Age and regions were associated with overuse of stress imaging. Male sex, age, and some regions were associated with stress imaging underuse., Conclusion: Adherence to pre-operative stress imaging recommendation was high. In contrast, adherence to TTE recommendations was moderate. Both patients' and geographical factors affected adherence to joint ESC/ESA guidelines., Trial Registration: NCT03016936., (Copyright © 2024 European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.)

Background: Cardiac biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N‑terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are measured perioperatively to improve the prognosis and risk prediction. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC), European Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) and the German Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) have recently published guidelines on the use of cardiac biomarkers prior to surgery., Objective/research Question: This article provides an overview of the available evidence on perioperative troponin and BNP/NT-proBNP measurements. Current guideline recommendations are presented and discussed., Material and Methods: MEDLINE, Cochrane and google.scholar were searched for relevant keywords. Titles and abstracts of identified papers were checked for relevance and published results were summarized. Guideline recommendations from the ESC, ESAIC and DGAI are presented, compared and evaluated based on the available literature. In addition, the significance of new perioperative cardiac biomarkers is discussed based on the existing evidence., Results: The definitions, diagnosis and management of cardiovascular events in the perioperative context differ from those in the nonsurgical setting. The evidence for the measurement of hs-cTn and BNP/NT-proBNP is evaluated differently in the guidelines and the resulting recommendations are partly contradictory. In particular, recommendations for changes in perioperative management based on biomarker measurements diverge. The ESC guidelines propose an algorithm that uses preoperative biomarkers as the basis for additional cardiac investigations. In particular, invasive coronary angiography is recommended for patients with stable chronic coronary syndrome who have no preoperative cardiac symptoms but elevated biomarkers. In contrast, the ESAIC guidelines emphasize that the available evidence is not sufficient to use perioperative biomarker measurements as a basis for a change in perioperative management., Discussion: Treating physicians should coordinate interdisciplinary (surgery, anesthesiology, cardiology) recommendations for clinical practice based on the aforementioned guidelines. If cardiac biomarkers are routinely determined in high-risk patients, this should be done in accordance with the ESC algorithm., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Background: In 2022, the European Society of Cardiology updated guidelines for preoperative evaluation. The aims of this study were to quantify: (1) the impact of the updated recommendations on the yield of pathological findings compared with the previous guidelines published in 2014; (2) the impact of preoperative B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) use for risk estimation on the yield of pathological findings; and (3) the association between 2022 guideline adherence and outcomes., Methods: This was a secondary analysis of MET-REPAIR, an international, prospective observational cohort study (NCT03016936). Primary endpoints were reduced ejection fraction (EF<40%), stress-induced ischaemia, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The explanatory variables were class of recommendations for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), stress imaging, and guideline adherence. We conducted second-order Monte Carlo simulations and multivariable regression., Results: In total, 15,529 patients (39% female, median age 72 [inter-quartile range: 67-78] yr) were included. The 2022 update changed the recommendation for preoperative TTE in 39.7% patients, and for preoperative stress imaging in 12.9% patients. The update resulted in missing 1 EF <40% every 3 fewer conducted TTE, and in 4 additional stress imaging per 1 additionally detected ischaemia events. For cardiac stress testing, four more investigations were performed for every 1 additionally detected ischaemia episodes. Use of NT-proBNP did not improve the yield of pathological findings. Multivariable regression analysis failed to find an association between adherence to the updated guidelines and MACE., Conclusions: The 2022 update for preoperative cardiac testing resulted in a relevant increase in tests receiving a stronger recommendation. The updated recommendations for TTE did not improve the yield of pathological cardiac testing., (Copyright © 2024 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Perioperative thoracic epidural analgesia (EDA) and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) are common forms of analgesia after pancreatic surgery. Current guidelines recommend EDA over PCIA, and evidence suggests that EDA may improve long-term survival after surgery, especially in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether perioperative EDA is associated with an improved patient prognosis compared to PCIA in pancreatic surgery., Methods: The PAKMAN trial was an adaptive, pragmatic, international, multicenter, randomized controlled superiority trial conducted from June 2015 to October 2017. Three to five years after index surgery a long-term follow-up was performed from October 2020 to April 2021., Results: For long-term follow-up of survival, 109 patients with EDA were compared to 111 patients with PCIA after partial pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Long-term follow-up of quality of life (QoL) and pain assessment was available for 40 patients with EDA and 45 patients with PCIA (questionnaire response rate: 94%). Survival analysis revealed that EDA, when compared to PCIA, was not associated with improved overall survival (OS, HR, 1.176, 95% HR-CI, 0.809-1.710, P = .397, n = 220). Likewise, recurrence-free survival did not differ between groups (HR, 1.116, 95% HR-CI, 0.817-1.664, P = .397, n = 220). OS subgroup analysis including only patients with malignancies showed no significant difference between EDA and PCIA (HR, 1.369, 95% HR-CI, 0.932-2.011, P = .109, n = 179). Similar long-term effects on QoL and pain severity were observed in both groups (EDA: n = 40, PCIA: n = 45)., Conclusions: Results from this long-term follow-up of the PAKMAN randomized controlled trial do not support favoring EDA over PCIA in pancreatic surgery. Until further evidence is available, EDA and PCIA should be considered similar regarding long-term survival., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Background: Self-reported functional capacity measures have an uncertain role in the pre-operative cardiovascular risk stratification., Aim: This substudy aimed to evaluate whether self-reported metabolic equivalent (MET) could improve the prediction of postoperative myocardial injury (MI) over other well-established cardiovascular risk factors., Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of an international multicenter prospective cohort study. We recruited patients ≥45 years old who had elective elevated-risk noncardiac surgery in 45 centers across 17 countries between June 2017 and April 2020. The primary outcome was MI defined according to the Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. We measured the proportion of new prognostic information added by self-reported MET using multivariable logistic regression., Results: In total, 860 (41.3%) patients suffered MI. In patients without systematic troponin surveillance, the odds ratio for MI with each 1-point increment in MET equaled 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.07). The new prognostic information, according to the likelihood ratio adequacy index, accounted for 1.5%. Sensitivity analysis, including centers with >90% of patients with routine high-sensitivity troponin T monitoring, showed that MET added 21.8% of new information to the baseline model, and each additional point was associated with a lower risk of MI (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.81-0.91)., Conclusions: In elevated-risk noncardiac surgery, self-reported functional capacity measures do not significantly improve the prediction of MI; however, they add new prognostic information in centers with routine perioperative troponin monitoring.

(1) Background: Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) remains a serious complication in obstetric patients. While the epidural blood patch represents the current gold standard in therapy, a growing number of alternative measures are thought to be beneficial for clinical management. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the efficacy of intranasal lidocaine administration to treat PDPH in obstetrics at our university hospital; (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with PDPH has been performed focusing on the techniques of administration, dosing, treatment duration, impact on pain intensity as well as side effects of intranasal lidocaine; (3) Results: During the study period, 5610 obstetric patients received neuraxial anesthesia, of whom 43 (0.77%) developed PDPH. About one third of the patients with PDPH after spinal anesthesia ( n = 8), epidural anesthesia ( n = 5) or both ( n = 2) were treated with intranasal lidocaine. Lidocaine was administered either via gauze compresses (GC, n = 4), a mucosal atomization device (MAD, n = 8) or with a second-line mucosal atomization device due to low gauze compress efficacy ( n = 3). All patients treated with lidocaine refused the epidural blood patch. Nebulization of lidocaine resulted in a significant reduction in pain intensity after the first dose ( p = 0.008). No relevant side effects developed except sporadic temporal pharyngeal numbness. The utilization of the mucosal atomization device averted the necessity for an epidural blood patch, whether employed as the primary or secondary approach; (4) Conclusions: Our data imply that the mucosal atomization device enhances the efficacy of intranasal lidocaine administration in obstetric patients suffering from PDPH.

Importance: Nearly 16 million surgical procedures are conducted in North America yearly, and postoperative cardiovascular events are frequent. Guidelines suggest functional capacity or B-type natriuretic peptides (BNP) to guide perioperative management. Data comparing the performance of these approaches are scarce., Objective: To compare the addition of either N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP) or self-reported functional capacity to clinical scores to estimate the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE)., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included patients undergoing inpatient, elective, noncardiac surgery at 25 tertiary care hospitals in Europe between June 2017 and April 2020. Analysis was conducted in January 2023. Eligible patients were either aged 45 years or older with a Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) of 2 or higher or a National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, Risk Calculator for Myocardial Infarction and Cardiac (NSQIP MICA) above 1%, or they were aged 65 years or older and underwent intermediate or high-risk procedures., Exposures: Preoperative NT-proBNP and the following self-reported measures of functional capacity were the exposures: (1) questionnaire-estimated metabolic equivalents (METs), (2) ability to climb 1 floor, and (3) level of regular physical activity., Main Outcome and Measures: MACE was defined as a composite end point of in-hospital cardiovascular mortality, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure requiring transfer to a higher unit of care., Results: A total of 3731 eligible patients undergoing noncardiac surgery were analyzed; 3597 patients had complete data (1258 women [35.0%]; 1463 (40.7%) aged 75 years or older; 86 [2.4%] experienced a MACE). Discrimination of NT-proBNP or functional capacity measures added to clinical scores did not significantly differ (Area under the receiver operating curve: RCRI, age, and 4MET, 0.704; 95% CI, 0.646-0.763; RCRI, age, and 4MET plus floor climbing, 0.702; 95% CI, 0.645-0.760; RCRI, age, and 4MET plus physical activity, 0.724; 95% CI, 0.672-0.775; RCRI, age, and 4MET plus NT-proBNP, 0.736; 95% CI, 0.682-0.790). Benefit analysis favored NT-proBNP at a threshold of 5% or below, ie, if true positives were valued 20 times or more compared with false positives. The findings were similar for NSQIP MICA as baseline clinical scores., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of nearly 3600 patients with elevated cardiovascular risk undergoing noncardiac surgery, there was no conclusive evidence of a difference between a NT-proBNP-based and a self-reported functional capacity-based estimate of MACE risk., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03016936.

Background: Postoperative immunosuppression has been recognized as an important driver of surgery-related morbidity and mortality. It is characterized by lymphocyte depression and impaired monocyte capability to present foreign antigens to T-cells via Major Histocompatibility Complex, Class II (MHC-II) molecules. In patients with postoperative abdominal sepsis, we previously detected a persisting differential binding of the CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF), a superordinate regulator of transcription, inside the MHC-II region with specific impact on human leucocyte antigen (HLA) gene expression. In this prospective exploratory study, we investigated to which extent major surgery affects the MHC-II region of circulating CD14+-monocytes., Results: In non-immunocompromised patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery, a postoperative loss of monocyte HLA-DR surface receptor density was accompanied by a decline in the transcription levels of the classical MHC-II genes HLA-DRA, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1. The surgical event decreased the expression of the transcriptional MHC-II regulators CIITA and CTCF and led to a lower CTCF enrichment at an intergenic sequence within the HLA-DR subregion. During the observation period, we found a slow and only incomplete restoration of monocyte HLA-DR surface receptor density as well as a partial recovery of CIITA, HLA-DRA and HLA-DRB1 expression. In contrast, transcription of HLA-DPA1, HLA-DPB1, CTCF and binding of CTCF within the MHC-II remained altered., Conclusion: In circulating monocytes, major surgery does not globally affect MHC-II transcription but rather induces specific changes in the expression of selected HLA genes, followed by differential recovery patterns and accompanied by a prolonged reduction of CTCF expression and binding within the MHC-II region. Our results hint toward a long-lasting impact of a major surgical intervention on monocyte functionality, possibly mediated by epigenetic changes that endure the life span of the individual cell., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Siegler et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Guidelines endorse self-reported functional capacity for preoperative cardiovascular assessment, although evidence for its predictive value is inconsistent. We hypothesised that self-reported effort tolerance improves prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) after noncardiac surgery., Methods: This is an international prospective cohort study (June 2017 to April 2020) in patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery at elevated cardiovascular risk. Exposures were (i) questionnaire-estimated effort tolerance in metabolic equivalents (METs), (ii) number of floors climbed without resting, (iii) self-perceived cardiopulmonary fitness compared with peers, and (iv) level of regularly performed physical activity. The primary endpoint was in-hospital MACE consisting of cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure requiring transfer to a higher unit of care or resulting in a prolongation of stay on ICU/intermediate care (≥24 h). Mixed-effects logistic regression models were calculated., Results: In this study, 274 (1.8%) of 15 406 patients experienced MACE. Loss of follow-up was 2%. All self-reported functional capacity measures were independently associated with MACE but did not improve discrimination (area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic [ROC AUC]) over an internal clinical risk model (ROC AUC baseline 0.74 [0.71-0.77], ROC AUC baseline+4METs 0.74 [0.71-0.77], ROC AUC baseline+floors climbed 0.75 [0.71-0.78], AUC baseline+fitness vs peers 0.74 [0.71-0.77], and AUC baseline+physical activity 0.75 [0.72-0.78])., Conclusions: Assessment of self-reported functional capacity expressed in METs or using the other measures assessed here did not improve prognostic accuracy compared with clinical risk factors. Caution is needed in the use of self-reported functional capacity to guide clinical decisions resulting from risk assessment in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery., Clinical Trial Registration: NCT03016936., (Copyright © 2023 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Previous studies demonstrated that the implementation of the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guideline-based bundle, consisting of different supportive measures in patients at high risk for acute kidney injury (AKI), might reduce rate and severity of AKI after surgery. However, the effects of the care bundle in broader population of patients undergoing surgery require confirmation., Methods and Analysis: The BigpAK-2 trial is an international, randomised, controlled, multicentre trial. The trial aims to enrol 1302 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the intensive care or high dependency unit and are at high-risk for postoperative AKI as identified by urinary biomarkers (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2*insulin like growth factor binding protein 7 (TIMP-2)*IGFBP7)). Eligible patients will be randomised to receive either standard of care (control) or a KDIGO-based AKI care bundle (intervention). The primary endpoint is the incidence of moderate or severe AKI (stage 2 or 3) within 72 hours after surgery, according to the KDIGO 2012 criteria. Secondary endpoints include adherence to the KDIGO care bundle, occurrence and severity of any stage of AKI, change in biomarker values during 12 hours after initial measurement of (TIMP-2)*(IGFBP7), number of free days of mechanical ventilation and vasopressors, need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), duration of RRT, renal recovery, 30-day and 60-day mortality, intensive care unit length-of-stay and hospital length-of-stay and major adverse kidney events. An add-on study will investigate blood and urine samples from recruited patients for immunological functions and kidney damage., Ethics and Dissemination: The BigpAK-2 trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty of the University of Münster and subsequently by the corresponding Ethics Committee of the participating sites. A study amendment was approved subsequently. In the UK, the trial was adopted as an NIHR portfolio study. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and will guide patient care and further research., Trial Registration Number: NCT04647396., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MM has received lecture fees from Biomériux, Baxter and Fresenius Medical Care as well as an unrestricted research grant from Baxter. AZ has received lecture and consultancy fees from Biomériux, Baxter, AM Pharma, Novartis, Guard Therapeutics, Paion, Bayer and Fresenius Medical Care. In addition, AZ received unrestricted research grants from Baxter, Biomériux, Fresenius and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation). JK is a paid consultant to Biomériux and is employed by Spectral Medical. SR received lecture fees from bioMerieux, Baxter and BBraun, as well as an unrestricted research grant from Baxter. SdR has received an educational grant from bioMerieux. MO has received research funding from bioMerieux. JG has received honoraria from TESARO, QUIRIS Healthcare, Ecker+Ecker, Dr August Wolff, Roche, University Clinics Schleswig-Holstein and RWTH Aachen University. AS has received consultancy fees from bioMerieux. All other authors have no conflict of interests to declare., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Over the past 20 years improvements in surgical techniques and perioperative patient care have led to a considerable increase in surgical procedures of the spine worldwide. Therefore, the spectrum was extended from minimally invasive procedures up to complex operations over several segments of the spinal column with high loss of blood and complex perioperative management. This article presents the principal pillars of preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management relating to spinal surgery. Furthermore, procedure-specific features, such as airway management in cervical spine instability or implementation of intraoperative neuromonitoring are dealt with in detail., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Background: Use of intraoperative prothrombin complex concentrates (PCC) and fibrinogen concentrate administration has been linked to thrombotic events. However, it is unknown if its use is associated with thrombotic events after liver transplant., Methods and Analysis: We conducted a post hoc analysis of a prospectively conducted registry database study on patients who underwent liver transplant between 2004 and 2017 at Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the association between PCC and fibrinogen concentrate administration and thrombotic complications., Results: Data from 939 transplantations were included in the analysis. Perioperative PCC or fibrinogen administration was independently associated with the primary composite endpoint Hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), Portal vein thrombosis (PVT), and inferior vena cava thrombosis [adjusted HR: 2.018 (1.174; 3.468), p = 0.011]. PCC or fibrinogen administration was associated with the secondary endpoints 30-day mortality (OR 4.225, p < 0.001), graft failure (OR 3.093, p < 0.001), intraoperative blood loss, red blood cell concentrate, fresh frozen plasma and platelet transfusion, longer hospitalization, and longer length of stay in intensive care units (ICUs) (all p < 0.001). PCC or fibrinogen administration were not associated with pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, stroke, or deep vein thrombosis within 30 days after surgery., Conclusion: A critical review of established strategies in coagulation management during liver transplantation is warranted. Perioperative caregivers should exercise caution when administering coagulation factor concentrate during liver transplant surgery. Prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to establish causality for the relationship between coagulation factors and thrombotic events in liver transplantation. Further studies should be tailored to identify patient subgroups that will likely benefit from PCC or fibrinogen administration., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Dehne, Riede, Klotz, Sander, Feisst, Merle, Mieth, Golriz, Mehrabi, Büchler, Weigand and Larmann.)