Journal of Cardiac Surgery最新文献

Background. Cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the US for decades. Over half a million cardiothoracic surgery procedures are performed per year, with an increasingly aging population and rising healthcare costs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in Medicare reimbursement rates from 2007 to 2020 for various cardiothoracic surgery procedures. Methods. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool was queried for common procedural terminology codes for 119 common cardiothoracic surgery procedures to obtain reimbursement data by year. Procedures were organized into cardiac, CABG, and thoracic subgroups. All monetary data were adjusted for inflation to 2020 US dollars. Adjusted data were analyzed to calculate compound annual growth rates (CAGR), average annual change, and total percent change for each procedure. Results. After adjusting for inflation, the reimbursement rates for cardiothoracic surgery procedures decreased by 10.20% on average. Reimbursement rates for cardiac, CABG, and thoracic surgical procedures decreased by 8.74%, 14.46%, and 10.94%, respectively. The mean annual change overall was −$14.47, and the CAGR was 0.82%. CABG procedures had the greatest decrease in CAGR (−1.11%), annual change (−$30.30), and total percent change (−14.46%). Conclusions. Medicare reimbursements for cardiothoracic surgery procedures steadily decreased from 2007 to 2020, with CABG procedures experiencing the highest percentage of decline. Dissemination of these findings is crucial to raising awareness for healthcare administrators, surgeons, insurance companies, and policymakers to ensure the accessibility of these procedures for high-quality cardiothoracic surgery care in the United States.

Objective. To investigate the incidence of thoracic deformities after median sternotomy in infants who underwent congenital cardiac surgery and determine its influencing factors. Methods. This was a single-center retrospective study. A total of 156 infants who underwent congenital cardiac surgery with median sternotomy in a provincial hospital in China from September 2020 to January 2022 were included. Depending on whether thoracic deformities occurred, the patients were classified into the thoracic deformity group and the no thoracic deformity group. Relevant data were retrieved through an electronic medical record system, and statistical comparisons and analyses were performed. Results. The incidence of postoperative thoracic deformities in this cohort was 10.9%. Sternal pins for auxiliary sternal fixation were used in eighty-nine infants. After analysis, it was found that age at operation (1.9 ± 0.9 vs. 3.7 ± 1.2, P < 0.001) and weight-for-age Z-scores (−2.0 ± 0.7 vs. −1.4 ± 0.7, P = 0.001) of the thoracic deformity group were significantly lower than those of the no thoracic deformity group. In addition, sternal pin use was significantly higher in the no thoracic deformity group than in the thoracic deformity group (61.9% vs. 17.6%, P = 0.001). Univariable analysis showed that age at operation (OR, 4.74; 95% CI, 2.38–9.46; P < 0.001) and weight-for-age Z-scores (OR, 4.40; 95% CI, 1.74–11.12; P = 0.002) were significant risk factors for postoperative thoracic deformity. Using sternal pins for auxiliary sternal fixation was an important protective factor (OR, 7.57; 95% CI, 2.08–27.59; P = 0.003). Conclusions. In this study, 10.9% of infants undergoing congenital cardiac surgery through a median sternotomy developed thoracic deformities after surgery. Younger age at operation and poor nutritional conditions may be risk factors for postoperative thoracic deformity. Sternal pin-assisted fixation has a positive effect on the prevention of thoracic deformities.

Objective. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation after ascending aortic replacement in acute type A aortic dissection patients, with emphasis on biochemical parameters. Methods. From Jan 2020 to Dec 2021, a total of 435 acute type A aortic dissection patients who underwent ascending aortic replacement and without a history of atrial fibrillation were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Perioperative data of these patients were obtained from the hospital’s database. The 30-day follow-up was via telephone interviews. The multivariate regression analysis was used to identify risk factors that may be predictive of postoperative atrial fibrillation. Results. 218 (50.1%) patients experienced postoperative atrial fibrillation after ascending aorta replacement surgery. Older age (OR = 1.081 (1.059–1.104), p < 0.001), higher total bile acid (OR = 1.064 (1.024–1.106), p = 0.002), glucose (OR = 1.180 (1.038–1.342), p = 0.012), and serum potassium (OR = 2.313 (1.078–4.960), p = 0.031) were identified by multivariate regression analysis as risk factors of postoperative atrial fibrillation. The multivariate regression analysis prediction model incorporating these four factors had a good prediction effect (AUC = 0.769 (0.723–0.816), p < 0.001). Conclusions. Older age, higher total bile acid, glucose, and serum potassium were risk factors of postoperative atrial fibrillation after ascending aortic replacement surgery in acute type A aortic dissection patients.