FOCUS: The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists’ Initiative to Improve Quality and Safety in the Cardiovascular Operating Room
The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) introduced the FOCUS initiative (Flawless Operative Cardiovascular Unified Systems) in 2005 in response to the need for a rigorous scientific approach to improve quality and safety in the cardiovascular operating room (CVOR).
Safety and Efficacy of Implementing a Multidisciplinary Heart Team Approach for Revascularization in Patients With Complex Coronary Artery Disease: An Observational Cohort Pilot Study
Since the advent of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the multidisciplinary heart team (MHT) approach has rapidly become the standard of care for patients undergoing the procedure.
Predicting In-Hospital Mortality in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection: Evidence From International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection
The purpose of this study was to investigate predictors for mortality among patients presenting with acute type B aortic dissection (ABAD) and to create a predictive model to estimate individual risk of in-hospital mortality using the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD).
Thirty-Year Patency of a Coronary Sequential Venous Bypass Graft
This case report demonstrated the potential extreme long-term patency of a sequential saphenous vein graft
National Trends in the Utilization of Short-Term Mechanical Circulatory Support: Incidence, Outcomes, and Cost Analysis
The purpose of this study was to characterize the demographics, treatment practices, survival rates, and cost of short-term MCS
Comparison of Four Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Devices Shows That They are only Suitable for Monitoring Cerebral Oxygenation Trends in Preterm Infants
the industry cannot agree on uniform and reproducible standards.
Thromboelastography is a Suboptimal Test for Determination of the Underlying Cause of Bleeding Associated with Cardiopulmonary Bypass and May Not Predict a Hypercoagulable State
TEG had limited utility in identifying the underlying cause of bleeding
Pre-procedural Statin Use in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
We evaluated the incidence and in-hospital outcomes associated with statin pretreatment among patients undergoing PCI and enrolled in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium PCI registry at 44 hospitals in Michigan between January 2010 and December 2012.
Prediction of Costs and Length of Stay in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Although more than 200,000 bypass operations are performed in the United States annually, few data exist on the predictors of costs and resource use for this procedure. Questions related to clinical outcomes, costs, and resource use in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were addressed.
The Challenge of Achieving 1% Operative Mortality for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Multi-Institution Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database Analysis
Cardiothoracic surgical leadership recently challenged the surgical community to achieve an operative mortality rate of 1.0% for the performance of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The purpose of our study was to identify a patient population in which this operative mortality goal is achievable relative to the estimated operative risk.
The Predictors of Surgical Site Infection Post Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review
We sought to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the predictors of surgical site infection (SSI) after cardiac surgery. We included published, peer-reviewed, English-language, retrospective and prospective studies identified in a search of Medline, CINAHL, and PubMed from 2005 and through February 20, 2012.
Geographic Variability in Potentially Discretionary Red Blood Cell Transfusions After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
A number of established regional quality improvement collaboratives have partnered to assess and improve care across their regions under the umbrella of the Cardiac Surgery Quality Improvement (IMPROVE) Network. The first effort of the IMPROVE Network has been to assess regional differences in potentially discretionary transfusions (<3 units red blood cells [RBCs]).