Perioperative Medicine

Background: There are extensive publications regarding preoperative risk assessment and optimization of risk management. This article is a review of current aggregate data from various meta-analyses and observational studies. It explores a systematic approach to preoperative risk assessment.

Dr. Young is a hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and instructor of medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, both in Chicago.

Background: There are extensive publications regarding preoperative risk assessment and optimization of risk management. This article is a review of current aggregate data from various meta-analyses and observational studies. It explores a systematic approach to preoperative risk assessment.

Dr. Young is a hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and instructor of medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, both in Chicago.

Background: There are extensive publications regarding preoperative risk assessment and optimization of risk management. This article is a review of current aggregate data from various meta-analyses and observational studies. It explores a systematic approach to preoperative risk assessment.

Dr. Young is a hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and instructor of medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, both in Chicago.

The number of same-day discharges has grown with the increase in robotic-assisted surgeries and advances in imaging and pressures to reduce hospital costs. COVID-19 has, perhaps temporarily, increased the same-day surgery numbers as surgeries have been restricted and hospital beds are needed for COVID-19 patients.

Urologist Ronney Abaza, MD, a robotic surgery specialist in Dublin, Ohio, and colleagues, reviewed robotic surgeries at their hospital during COVID-19 restrictions on surgery in Ohio between March 17 and June 5, 2020, and compared them with robotic procedures before COVID-19 and after restrictions were lifted. They published their results in Urology.

Since 2016, the hospital has offered the option of same-day discharge (SDD) to all robotic urologic surgery patients, regardless of procedure or patient-specific factors.

Among patients who had surgery during COVID-19 restrictions, 98% (87/89 patients) opted for SDD versus 52% in the group having surgery before the restrictions (P < .00001). After the COVID-19 surgery restrictions were lifted, the higher rate of SDD remained at 98%.

“There were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between SDD and overnight patients,” the authors write.
 

The right patient, the right motivation for successful surgery

Brian Lane, MD, PhD, a urologic oncologist with Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told this news organization that, for nephrectomies, uptake of same-day discharge will continue to be slow.

“You have to have the right patient, the right patient motivation, and the surgery has to go smoothly,” he said. “If you start sending everyone home the same day, you will certainly see readmissions,” he said.

Dr. Lane is part of the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative and he said the group recently looked at same-day discharge outcomes after robotic prostatectomies with SDD as compared with 1-2 nights in the hospital.

The work has not yet been published but, “There was a slight signal that there were increased readmissions with same-day discharge vs. 0-1 day,” he said.

A paper on outcomes of same-day discharge in total knee arthroplasty in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery found a higher risk of perioperative complications “including component failure, surgical site infection, knee stiffness, and deep vein thrombosis.” Researchers compared outcomes between 4,391 patients who underwent outpatient TKA and 128,951 patients who underwent inpatient TKA.

But for other many surgeries, same-day discharge numbers are increasing without worsening outcomes.

A paper in the Journal of Robotic Surgery found that same-day discharge following robotic-assisted endometrial cancer staging is “safe and feasible.”

Stephen Bradley, MD, MPH, with the Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, and colleagues write in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions that they found a large increase in the use of same-day discharge after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was not associated with worse 30-day mortality rates or readmission.

In that study, 114,461 patients were discharged the same day they underwent PCI. The proportion of patients who had a same-day discharge increased from 4.5% in 2009 to 28.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality did not change in that time, while risk-adjusted rehospitalization decreased over time and more quickly when patients had same-day discharge.

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, and Jonathan G. Sung, MBCHB, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, wrote in an accompanying article that, “Advances in the devices and techniques of PCI have improved the safety and efficacy of the procedure. In selected patients, same-day discharge has become possible, and overnight in-hospital observation can be avoided. By reducing unnecessary hospital stays, both patients and hospitals could benefit.”

Evan Garden, a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, presented findings at the American Urological Association 2021 annual meeting that show patients selected for same-day discharge after partial or radical nephrectomy did not have increased rates of postoperative complications or readmissions in the immediate postoperative period, compared with standard discharge of 1-3 days.
 

Case studies in nephrectomy

While several case studies have looked at the feasibility and safety of performing partial and radical nephrectomy with same-day discharge in select cases, “this topic has not been addressed on a national level,” Mr. Garden said.

Few patients who have partial or radical nephrectomies have same-day discharges. The researchers found that fewer than 1% of patients who have either procedure in the sample studied were discharged the same day.

Researchers used the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, a nationally representative deidentified database that prospectively tracks patient characteristics and 30-day perioperative outcomes for major inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures at more than 700 hospitals.

They extracted all minimally invasive partial and radical nephrectomies from 2012 to 2019 and refined the cohort to 28,140 patients who were theoretically eligible for same-day discharge: Of those, 237 (0.8%) had SSD, and 27,903 (99.2%) had a standard-length discharge (SLD).

The team found that there were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between same-day discharge (Clavien-Dindo [CD] I/II, 4.22%; CD III, 0%; CD IV, 1.27%; readmission, 4.64%); and SLD (CD I/II, 4.11%; CD III, 0.95%; CD IV, 0.79%; readmission, 3.90%; all P > .05).

Controlling for demographic and clinical variables, SDD was not associated with greater risk of 30-day complications or readmissions (CD I/II: odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-2.048; P = .813; CD IV: OR 1.699; 95% CI, 0.537-5.375; P = .367; readmission: OR, 1.254; 95% CI, 0.681-2.31; P = .467).

Mr. Garden and coauthors report no relevant financial relationships.

Dr. Lane reports no relevant financial relationships.

The number of same-day discharges has grown with the increase in robotic-assisted surgeries and advances in imaging and pressures to reduce hospital costs. COVID-19 has, perhaps temporarily, increased the same-day surgery numbers as surgeries have been restricted and hospital beds are needed for COVID-19 patients.

Urologist Ronney Abaza, MD, a robotic surgery specialist in Dublin, Ohio, and colleagues, reviewed robotic surgeries at their hospital during COVID-19 restrictions on surgery in Ohio between March 17 and June 5, 2020, and compared them with robotic procedures before COVID-19 and after restrictions were lifted. They published their results in Urology.

Since 2016, the hospital has offered the option of same-day discharge (SDD) to all robotic urologic surgery patients, regardless of procedure or patient-specific factors.

Among patients who had surgery during COVID-19 restrictions, 98% (87/89 patients) opted for SDD versus 52% in the group having surgery before the restrictions (P < .00001). After the COVID-19 surgery restrictions were lifted, the higher rate of SDD remained at 98%.

“There were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between SDD and overnight patients,” the authors write.
 

The right patient, the right motivation for successful surgery

Brian Lane, MD, PhD, a urologic oncologist with Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told this news organization that, for nephrectomies, uptake of same-day discharge will continue to be slow.

“You have to have the right patient, the right patient motivation, and the surgery has to go smoothly,” he said. “If you start sending everyone home the same day, you will certainly see readmissions,” he said.

Dr. Lane is part of the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative and he said the group recently looked at same-day discharge outcomes after robotic prostatectomies with SDD as compared with 1-2 nights in the hospital.

The work has not yet been published but, “There was a slight signal that there were increased readmissions with same-day discharge vs. 0-1 day,” he said.

A paper on outcomes of same-day discharge in total knee arthroplasty in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery found a higher risk of perioperative complications “including component failure, surgical site infection, knee stiffness, and deep vein thrombosis.” Researchers compared outcomes between 4,391 patients who underwent outpatient TKA and 128,951 patients who underwent inpatient TKA.

But for other many surgeries, same-day discharge numbers are increasing without worsening outcomes.

A paper in the Journal of Robotic Surgery found that same-day discharge following robotic-assisted endometrial cancer staging is “safe and feasible.”

Stephen Bradley, MD, MPH, with the Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, and colleagues write in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions that they found a large increase in the use of same-day discharge after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was not associated with worse 30-day mortality rates or readmission.

In that study, 114,461 patients were discharged the same day they underwent PCI. The proportion of patients who had a same-day discharge increased from 4.5% in 2009 to 28.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality did not change in that time, while risk-adjusted rehospitalization decreased over time and more quickly when patients had same-day discharge.

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, and Jonathan G. Sung, MBCHB, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, wrote in an accompanying article that, “Advances in the devices and techniques of PCI have improved the safety and efficacy of the procedure. In selected patients, same-day discharge has become possible, and overnight in-hospital observation can be avoided. By reducing unnecessary hospital stays, both patients and hospitals could benefit.”

Evan Garden, a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, presented findings at the American Urological Association 2021 annual meeting that show patients selected for same-day discharge after partial or radical nephrectomy did not have increased rates of postoperative complications or readmissions in the immediate postoperative period, compared with standard discharge of 1-3 days.
 

Case studies in nephrectomy

While several case studies have looked at the feasibility and safety of performing partial and radical nephrectomy with same-day discharge in select cases, “this topic has not been addressed on a national level,” Mr. Garden said.

Few patients who have partial or radical nephrectomies have same-day discharges. The researchers found that fewer than 1% of patients who have either procedure in the sample studied were discharged the same day.

Researchers used the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, a nationally representative deidentified database that prospectively tracks patient characteristics and 30-day perioperative outcomes for major inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures at more than 700 hospitals.

They extracted all minimally invasive partial and radical nephrectomies from 2012 to 2019 and refined the cohort to 28,140 patients who were theoretically eligible for same-day discharge: Of those, 237 (0.8%) had SSD, and 27,903 (99.2%) had a standard-length discharge (SLD).

The team found that there were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between same-day discharge (Clavien-Dindo [CD] I/II, 4.22%; CD III, 0%; CD IV, 1.27%; readmission, 4.64%); and SLD (CD I/II, 4.11%; CD III, 0.95%; CD IV, 0.79%; readmission, 3.90%; all P > .05).

Controlling for demographic and clinical variables, SDD was not associated with greater risk of 30-day complications or readmissions (CD I/II: odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-2.048; P = .813; CD IV: OR 1.699; 95% CI, 0.537-5.375; P = .367; readmission: OR, 1.254; 95% CI, 0.681-2.31; P = .467).

Mr. Garden and coauthors report no relevant financial relationships.

Dr. Lane reports no relevant financial relationships.

The number of same-day discharges has grown with the increase in robotic-assisted surgeries and advances in imaging and pressures to reduce hospital costs. COVID-19 has, perhaps temporarily, increased the same-day surgery numbers as surgeries have been restricted and hospital beds are needed for COVID-19 patients.

Urologist Ronney Abaza, MD, a robotic surgery specialist in Dublin, Ohio, and colleagues, reviewed robotic surgeries at their hospital during COVID-19 restrictions on surgery in Ohio between March 17 and June 5, 2020, and compared them with robotic procedures before COVID-19 and after restrictions were lifted. They published their results in Urology.

Since 2016, the hospital has offered the option of same-day discharge (SDD) to all robotic urologic surgery patients, regardless of procedure or patient-specific factors.

Among patients who had surgery during COVID-19 restrictions, 98% (87/89 patients) opted for SDD versus 52% in the group having surgery before the restrictions (P < .00001). After the COVID-19 surgery restrictions were lifted, the higher rate of SDD remained at 98%.

“There were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between SDD and overnight patients,” the authors write.
 

The right patient, the right motivation for successful surgery

Brian Lane, MD, PhD, a urologic oncologist with Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told this news organization that, for nephrectomies, uptake of same-day discharge will continue to be slow.

“You have to have the right patient, the right patient motivation, and the surgery has to go smoothly,” he said. “If you start sending everyone home the same day, you will certainly see readmissions,” he said.

Dr. Lane is part of the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative and he said the group recently looked at same-day discharge outcomes after robotic prostatectomies with SDD as compared with 1-2 nights in the hospital.

The work has not yet been published but, “There was a slight signal that there were increased readmissions with same-day discharge vs. 0-1 day,” he said.

A paper on outcomes of same-day discharge in total knee arthroplasty in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery found a higher risk of perioperative complications “including component failure, surgical site infection, knee stiffness, and deep vein thrombosis.” Researchers compared outcomes between 4,391 patients who underwent outpatient TKA and 128,951 patients who underwent inpatient TKA.

But for other many surgeries, same-day discharge numbers are increasing without worsening outcomes.

A paper in the Journal of Robotic Surgery found that same-day discharge following robotic-assisted endometrial cancer staging is “safe and feasible.”

Stephen Bradley, MD, MPH, with the Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, and colleagues write in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions that they found a large increase in the use of same-day discharge after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was not associated with worse 30-day mortality rates or readmission.

In that study, 114,461 patients were discharged the same day they underwent PCI. The proportion of patients who had a same-day discharge increased from 4.5% in 2009 to 28.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality did not change in that time, while risk-adjusted rehospitalization decreased over time and more quickly when patients had same-day discharge.

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, and Jonathan G. Sung, MBCHB, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, wrote in an accompanying article that, “Advances in the devices and techniques of PCI have improved the safety and efficacy of the procedure. In selected patients, same-day discharge has become possible, and overnight in-hospital observation can be avoided. By reducing unnecessary hospital stays, both patients and hospitals could benefit.”

Evan Garden, a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, presented findings at the American Urological Association 2021 annual meeting that show patients selected for same-day discharge after partial or radical nephrectomy did not have increased rates of postoperative complications or readmissions in the immediate postoperative period, compared with standard discharge of 1-3 days.
 

Case studies in nephrectomy

While several case studies have looked at the feasibility and safety of performing partial and radical nephrectomy with same-day discharge in select cases, “this topic has not been addressed on a national level,” Mr. Garden said.

Few patients who have partial or radical nephrectomies have same-day discharges. The researchers found that fewer than 1% of patients who have either procedure in the sample studied were discharged the same day.

Researchers used the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, a nationally representative deidentified database that prospectively tracks patient characteristics and 30-day perioperative outcomes for major inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures at more than 700 hospitals.

They extracted all minimally invasive partial and radical nephrectomies from 2012 to 2019 and refined the cohort to 28,140 patients who were theoretically eligible for same-day discharge: Of those, 237 (0.8%) had SSD, and 27,903 (99.2%) had a standard-length discharge (SLD).

The team found that there were no differences in 30-day complications or readmissions between same-day discharge (Clavien-Dindo [CD] I/II, 4.22%; CD III, 0%; CD IV, 1.27%; readmission, 4.64%); and SLD (CD I/II, 4.11%; CD III, 0.95%; CD IV, 0.79%; readmission, 3.90%; all P > .05).

Controlling for demographic and clinical variables, SDD was not associated with greater risk of 30-day complications or readmissions (CD I/II: odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-2.048; P = .813; CD IV: OR 1.699; 95% CI, 0.537-5.375; P = .367; readmission: OR, 1.254; 95% CI, 0.681-2.31; P = .467).

Mr. Garden and coauthors report no relevant financial relationships.

Dr. Lane reports no relevant financial relationships.

Background: Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is common. Prior evidence comes from mostly single-center studies, with most improvements being in process indicators such as length of stay and staff satisfaction.

This study failed to show superior outcomes in comanagement patients. The retrospective nature and propensity matching will lead to the question of unmeasured confounding in this large multinational database.

Bottom line: Medical comanagement of hip fractures was not associated with improved outcomes in the NSQIP database.

Citation: Maxwell BG, Mirza A. Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is not associated with superior perioperative outcomes: A propensity score–matched retrospective cohort analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project. J Hosp Med. 2020;15:468-74.

Dr. Lockwood is a hospitalist and chief of quality, performance, and patient safety at the Lexington (Ky.) VA Health Care System.

Background: Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is common. Prior evidence comes from mostly single-center studies, with most improvements being in process indicators such as length of stay and staff satisfaction.

This study failed to show superior outcomes in comanagement patients. The retrospective nature and propensity matching will lead to the question of unmeasured confounding in this large multinational database.

Bottom line: Medical comanagement of hip fractures was not associated with improved outcomes in the NSQIP database.

Citation: Maxwell BG, Mirza A. Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is not associated with superior perioperative outcomes: A propensity score–matched retrospective cohort analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project. J Hosp Med. 2020;15:468-74.

Dr. Lockwood is a hospitalist and chief of quality, performance, and patient safety at the Lexington (Ky.) VA Health Care System.

Background: Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is common. Prior evidence comes from mostly single-center studies, with most improvements being in process indicators such as length of stay and staff satisfaction.

This study failed to show superior outcomes in comanagement patients. The retrospective nature and propensity matching will lead to the question of unmeasured confounding in this large multinational database.

Bottom line: Medical comanagement of hip fractures was not associated with improved outcomes in the NSQIP database.

Citation: Maxwell BG, Mirza A. Medical comanagement of hip fracture patients is not associated with superior perioperative outcomes: A propensity score–matched retrospective cohort analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project. J Hosp Med. 2020;15:468-74.

Dr. Lockwood is a hospitalist and chief of quality, performance, and patient safety at the Lexington (Ky.) VA Health Care System.

Orthopedic researchers from New York University have proposed standardizing prescribing patterns for patients after fracture surgery so as to include low-dose opioids.

In a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, researchers from NYU reported on the implementation of their multimodal strategy, dubbed the “lopioid protocol.”

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest opioid prescribers in the United States.

Kennneth A. Egol, MD, vice chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at NYU, who is the first author of the study, was motivated to help create the protocol following misconceptions that orthopedic surgeons were helping to fuel the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Egol pointed to the year 1995, when pain became the fifth vital sign after body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

Since then, in light of the opioid epidemic, the focus of physicians has shifted away from prescribing strong pain medication and reducing pain scores to zero to instead reducing pain to a manageable level.

Reducing opioid prescriptions can be challenging when patients are prescribed an anti-inflammatory and they subsequently ask their physician for a “pain pill.” Patients sometimes don’t understand that inflammation is what causes pain.

It can also be difficult to convince patients that medications that they can buy over the counter can adequately control their pain, as confirmed in numerous studies.

Multimodal pain therapy aims to reduce the need for opioids by supplementing their use with other oral medications and, at times, long-lasting regional nerve blocks.

Anti-inflammatories act at the site of injury or surgery where inflammation is occurring. Nerves then carry the pain signal to the brain. These signals can be dampened by medications such as gabapentin that act on the nerves themselves. The pain signal is received in the brain, where opioids act by binding to receptors in the brain.

The so-called lopioid protocol does not eliminate opioids completely but rather uses “safer” opioids, such as tramadol, in lieu of stronger narcotics.

The protocol began at NYU on Jan. 1, 2019. It consists in the prescribing of tramadol, meloxicam, gabapentin, and acetaminophen.

The study presented at the AAOS meeting demonstrated statistically significant reductions in visual analogue pain scores at discharge and subsequent medication refills for the 931 patients in the lopioid group, compared with a group of 848 patients who received narcotic prescriptions containing oxycodone from the year prior to the protocol initiation.

Educating patients on the rationale for the prescription combination can help to allay their fears. Dr. Egol thinks it’s important for physicians to explain the dangers of opioids to patients. He said in an interview that he also believes surgeons need to “give [patients] an understanding of why we are pursuing these protocols. They also need to know we will not ignore their pain and concerns.”

Brannon Orton, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Confluence Health, in Moses Lake, Wash. He sees a large number of trauma patients and thinks NYU is doing a good job of addressing a difficult problem in orthopedics – especially in the field of trauma.

He said in an interview: “Managing narcotics postoperatively can be challenging due to the fact that many people come into these fractures with a history of narcotic use.” Not only are they used to turning to opioids for pain relief, but they also may have built up a tolerance to them.

Although he hasn’t been using the lopioid protocol specifically, he has been following a multimodal approach regarding the postoperative use of narcotics. Of the study by Dr. Egol and colleagues, he said, “I think their paper presents an effective way of decreasing use of oral narcotics and still adequately managing patients’ pain postoperatively.” Dr. Orton’s own practice utilizes tramadol, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen after fracture surgery.

From Dr. Orton’s perspective, a significant challenge in implementing the lopioid protocol in practice is simply sticking to the plan. “It can become difficult when patients are pressuring staff or physicians for more narcotics. However, I feel that if everybody is on the same page with the plan, then it can be very doable.”

Dr. Egol and NYU try to limit narcotic prescriptions beginning with the patient’s initial visit to the ED. The ED physicians at his institution only “prescribe small amounts of narcotics. Our ED people really limit the amount of opioids prescribed.”

Dr. Egol recommends that all practitioners begin with nonnarcotic medication, even if treating a fracture nonoperatively. “Start low and go higher. I always try to start with NSAIDs and Tylenol,” he said.

Dr. Egol and Dr. Orton reported no relevant financial disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Orthopedic researchers from New York University have proposed standardizing prescribing patterns for patients after fracture surgery so as to include low-dose opioids.

In a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, researchers from NYU reported on the implementation of their multimodal strategy, dubbed the “lopioid protocol.”

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest opioid prescribers in the United States.

Kennneth A. Egol, MD, vice chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at NYU, who is the first author of the study, was motivated to help create the protocol following misconceptions that orthopedic surgeons were helping to fuel the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Egol pointed to the year 1995, when pain became the fifth vital sign after body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

Since then, in light of the opioid epidemic, the focus of physicians has shifted away from prescribing strong pain medication and reducing pain scores to zero to instead reducing pain to a manageable level.

Reducing opioid prescriptions can be challenging when patients are prescribed an anti-inflammatory and they subsequently ask their physician for a “pain pill.” Patients sometimes don’t understand that inflammation is what causes pain.

It can also be difficult to convince patients that medications that they can buy over the counter can adequately control their pain, as confirmed in numerous studies.

Multimodal pain therapy aims to reduce the need for opioids by supplementing their use with other oral medications and, at times, long-lasting regional nerve blocks.

Anti-inflammatories act at the site of injury or surgery where inflammation is occurring. Nerves then carry the pain signal to the brain. These signals can be dampened by medications such as gabapentin that act on the nerves themselves. The pain signal is received in the brain, where opioids act by binding to receptors in the brain.

The so-called lopioid protocol does not eliminate opioids completely but rather uses “safer” opioids, such as tramadol, in lieu of stronger narcotics.

The protocol began at NYU on Jan. 1, 2019. It consists in the prescribing of tramadol, meloxicam, gabapentin, and acetaminophen.

The study presented at the AAOS meeting demonstrated statistically significant reductions in visual analogue pain scores at discharge and subsequent medication refills for the 931 patients in the lopioid group, compared with a group of 848 patients who received narcotic prescriptions containing oxycodone from the year prior to the protocol initiation.

Educating patients on the rationale for the prescription combination can help to allay their fears. Dr. Egol thinks it’s important for physicians to explain the dangers of opioids to patients. He said in an interview that he also believes surgeons need to “give [patients] an understanding of why we are pursuing these protocols. They also need to know we will not ignore their pain and concerns.”

Brannon Orton, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Confluence Health, in Moses Lake, Wash. He sees a large number of trauma patients and thinks NYU is doing a good job of addressing a difficult problem in orthopedics – especially in the field of trauma.

He said in an interview: “Managing narcotics postoperatively can be challenging due to the fact that many people come into these fractures with a history of narcotic use.” Not only are they used to turning to opioids for pain relief, but they also may have built up a tolerance to them.

Although he hasn’t been using the lopioid protocol specifically, he has been following a multimodal approach regarding the postoperative use of narcotics. Of the study by Dr. Egol and colleagues, he said, “I think their paper presents an effective way of decreasing use of oral narcotics and still adequately managing patients’ pain postoperatively.” Dr. Orton’s own practice utilizes tramadol, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen after fracture surgery.

From Dr. Orton’s perspective, a significant challenge in implementing the lopioid protocol in practice is simply sticking to the plan. “It can become difficult when patients are pressuring staff or physicians for more narcotics. However, I feel that if everybody is on the same page with the plan, then it can be very doable.”

Dr. Egol and NYU try to limit narcotic prescriptions beginning with the patient’s initial visit to the ED. The ED physicians at his institution only “prescribe small amounts of narcotics. Our ED people really limit the amount of opioids prescribed.”

Dr. Egol recommends that all practitioners begin with nonnarcotic medication, even if treating a fracture nonoperatively. “Start low and go higher. I always try to start with NSAIDs and Tylenol,” he said.

Dr. Egol and Dr. Orton reported no relevant financial disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Orthopedic researchers from New York University have proposed standardizing prescribing patterns for patients after fracture surgery so as to include low-dose opioids.

In a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, researchers from NYU reported on the implementation of their multimodal strategy, dubbed the “lopioid protocol.”

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest opioid prescribers in the United States.

Kennneth A. Egol, MD, vice chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at NYU, who is the first author of the study, was motivated to help create the protocol following misconceptions that orthopedic surgeons were helping to fuel the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Egol pointed to the year 1995, when pain became the fifth vital sign after body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

Since then, in light of the opioid epidemic, the focus of physicians has shifted away from prescribing strong pain medication and reducing pain scores to zero to instead reducing pain to a manageable level.

Reducing opioid prescriptions can be challenging when patients are prescribed an anti-inflammatory and they subsequently ask their physician for a “pain pill.” Patients sometimes don’t understand that inflammation is what causes pain.

It can also be difficult to convince patients that medications that they can buy over the counter can adequately control their pain, as confirmed in numerous studies.

Multimodal pain therapy aims to reduce the need for opioids by supplementing their use with other oral medications and, at times, long-lasting regional nerve blocks.

Anti-inflammatories act at the site of injury or surgery where inflammation is occurring. Nerves then carry the pain signal to the brain. These signals can be dampened by medications such as gabapentin that act on the nerves themselves. The pain signal is received in the brain, where opioids act by binding to receptors in the brain.

The so-called lopioid protocol does not eliminate opioids completely but rather uses “safer” opioids, such as tramadol, in lieu of stronger narcotics.

The protocol began at NYU on Jan. 1, 2019. It consists in the prescribing of tramadol, meloxicam, gabapentin, and acetaminophen.

The study presented at the AAOS meeting demonstrated statistically significant reductions in visual analogue pain scores at discharge and subsequent medication refills for the 931 patients in the lopioid group, compared with a group of 848 patients who received narcotic prescriptions containing oxycodone from the year prior to the protocol initiation.

Educating patients on the rationale for the prescription combination can help to allay their fears. Dr. Egol thinks it’s important for physicians to explain the dangers of opioids to patients. He said in an interview that he also believes surgeons need to “give [patients] an understanding of why we are pursuing these protocols. They also need to know we will not ignore their pain and concerns.”

Brannon Orton, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Confluence Health, in Moses Lake, Wash. He sees a large number of trauma patients and thinks NYU is doing a good job of addressing a difficult problem in orthopedics – especially in the field of trauma.

He said in an interview: “Managing narcotics postoperatively can be challenging due to the fact that many people come into these fractures with a history of narcotic use.” Not only are they used to turning to opioids for pain relief, but they also may have built up a tolerance to them.

Although he hasn’t been using the lopioid protocol specifically, he has been following a multimodal approach regarding the postoperative use of narcotics. Of the study by Dr. Egol and colleagues, he said, “I think their paper presents an effective way of decreasing use of oral narcotics and still adequately managing patients’ pain postoperatively.” Dr. Orton’s own practice utilizes tramadol, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen after fracture surgery.

From Dr. Orton’s perspective, a significant challenge in implementing the lopioid protocol in practice is simply sticking to the plan. “It can become difficult when patients are pressuring staff or physicians for more narcotics. However, I feel that if everybody is on the same page with the plan, then it can be very doable.”

Dr. Egol and NYU try to limit narcotic prescriptions beginning with the patient’s initial visit to the ED. The ED physicians at his institution only “prescribe small amounts of narcotics. Our ED people really limit the amount of opioids prescribed.”

Dr. Egol recommends that all practitioners begin with nonnarcotic medication, even if treating a fracture nonoperatively. “Start low and go higher. I always try to start with NSAIDs and Tylenol,” he said.

Dr. Egol and Dr. Orton reported no relevant financial disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Insurance companies pay National Cancer Institute–designated cancer centers more for common cancer surgeries, but there’s no improvement in length of stay, subsequent ED use, or 90-day hospital readmission, compared with community hospitals, according to a recent report in JAMA Network Open.

“While acceptable to pay higher prices for care that is expected to be of higher quality, we found no differences in short-term postsurgical outcomes,” said authors led by Samuel Takvorian, MD, a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

The team looked at what insurance companies paid for incident breast, colon, and lung cancer surgeries, which together account for most cancer surgeries, among 66,878 patients treated from 2011 to 2014 at almost 3,000 U.S. hospitals.

Three-quarters had surgery at a community hospital, and 8.3% were treated at one of the nation’s 71 NCI centers, which are recognized by the NCI as meeting rigorous standards in cancer care. The remaining patients were treated at non-NCI academic hospitals.

The mean surgery-specific insurer prices paid at NCI centers was $18,526 versus $14,772 at community hospitals, a difference of $3,755 (P < .001) that was driven primarily by higher facility payments at NCI centers, a mean of $17,704 versus $14,120 at community hospitals.

Mean 90-day postdischarge payments were also $5,744 higher at NCI centers, $47,035 versus $41,291 at community hospitals (P = .006).

The team used postsurgical acute care utilization as a marker of quality but found no differences between the two settings. Mean length of stay was 5.1 days and the probability of ED utilization just over 13% in both, and both had a 90-day readmission rate of just over 10%.
 

Who should be treated at an NCI center?

The data didn’t allow for direct comparison of surgical quality, such as margin status, number of lymph nodes assessed, or postoperative complications, but the postsurgery utilization outcomes “suggest that quality may have been similar,” said Nancy Keating, MD, a health care policy and medicine professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, in an invited commentary.

The price differences are probably because NCI centers, with their comprehensive offerings, market share, and prestige, can negotiate higher reimbursement rates from insurers, the researchers said.

There is also evidence of better outcomes at NCI centers, particularly for more advanced and complex cases. However, “this study focused on common cancer surgical procedures ... revealing that there is a premium associated with receipt of surgical cancer care at NCI centers.” Further research “is necessary to judge whether and under what circumstances the premium price of NCI centers is justified,” the investigators said.

Dr. Keating noted that “it is likely that some patients benefit from the highly specialized care available at NCI-designated cancer centers ... but it is also likely that many other patients will do equally well regardless of where they receive their care.”

Amid ever-increasing cancer care costs and the need to strategically allocate financial resources, more research is needed to “identify subgroups of patients for whom highly specialized care is particularly necessary to achieve better outcomes. Such data could also be used by payers considering tiered networks and by physician organizations participating in risk contracts for decisions about where to refer patients with cancer for treatment,” she said.
 

Rectifying a ‘misalignment’

The researchers also said the findings reveal competing incentives, with commercial payers wanting to steer patients away from high-cost hospitals but health systems hoping to maximize surgical volume at lucrative referral centers.

“Value-based or bundled payment reimbursement for surgical episodes, particularly when paired with mandatory reporting on surgical outcomes, could help to rectify this misalignment,” they said.

Out-of-pocket spending wasn’t analyzed in the study, so it’s unknown how the higher prices at NCI centers hit patients in the pocketbook.

Meanwhile, non-NCI academic hospitals also had higher insurer prices paid than community hospitals, but the differences were not statistically significant, nor were differences in the study’s utilization outcomes.

Over half the patients had breast cancer, about one-third had colon cancer, and the rest had lung tumors. Patients treated at NCI centers tended to be younger than those treated at community hospitals and more likely to be women, but comorbidity scores were similar between the groups.

NCI centers, compared with community hospitals, were larger with higher surgical volumes and in more populated areas. They also had higher rates of laparoscopic partial colectomies and pneumonectomies.

Data came from the Health Care Cost Institute’s national commercial claims data set, which includes claims from three of the country’s five largest commercial insurers: Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

The work was funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Takvorian and Dr. Keating didn’t have any disclosures. One of Dr. Takvorian’s coauthors reported grants and/or personal fees from several sources, including Pfizer, UnitedHealthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

aotto@mdedge.com

Insurance companies pay National Cancer Institute–designated cancer centers more for common cancer surgeries, but there’s no improvement in length of stay, subsequent ED use, or 90-day hospital readmission, compared with community hospitals, according to a recent report in JAMA Network Open.

“While acceptable to pay higher prices for care that is expected to be of higher quality, we found no differences in short-term postsurgical outcomes,” said authors led by Samuel Takvorian, MD, a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

The team looked at what insurance companies paid for incident breast, colon, and lung cancer surgeries, which together account for most cancer surgeries, among 66,878 patients treated from 2011 to 2014 at almost 3,000 U.S. hospitals.

Three-quarters had surgery at a community hospital, and 8.3% were treated at one of the nation’s 71 NCI centers, which are recognized by the NCI as meeting rigorous standards in cancer care. The remaining patients were treated at non-NCI academic hospitals.

The mean surgery-specific insurer prices paid at NCI centers was $18,526 versus $14,772 at community hospitals, a difference of $3,755 (P < .001) that was driven primarily by higher facility payments at NCI centers, a mean of $17,704 versus $14,120 at community hospitals.

Mean 90-day postdischarge payments were also $5,744 higher at NCI centers, $47,035 versus $41,291 at community hospitals (P = .006).

The team used postsurgical acute care utilization as a marker of quality but found no differences between the two settings. Mean length of stay was 5.1 days and the probability of ED utilization just over 13% in both, and both had a 90-day readmission rate of just over 10%.
 

Who should be treated at an NCI center?

The data didn’t allow for direct comparison of surgical quality, such as margin status, number of lymph nodes assessed, or postoperative complications, but the postsurgery utilization outcomes “suggest that quality may have been similar,” said Nancy Keating, MD, a health care policy and medicine professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, in an invited commentary.

The price differences are probably because NCI centers, with their comprehensive offerings, market share, and prestige, can negotiate higher reimbursement rates from insurers, the researchers said.

There is also evidence of better outcomes at NCI centers, particularly for more advanced and complex cases. However, “this study focused on common cancer surgical procedures ... revealing that there is a premium associated with receipt of surgical cancer care at NCI centers.” Further research “is necessary to judge whether and under what circumstances the premium price of NCI centers is justified,” the investigators said.

Dr. Keating noted that “it is likely that some patients benefit from the highly specialized care available at NCI-designated cancer centers ... but it is also likely that many other patients will do equally well regardless of where they receive their care.”

Amid ever-increasing cancer care costs and the need to strategically allocate financial resources, more research is needed to “identify subgroups of patients for whom highly specialized care is particularly necessary to achieve better outcomes. Such data could also be used by payers considering tiered networks and by physician organizations participating in risk contracts for decisions about where to refer patients with cancer for treatment,” she said.
 

Rectifying a ‘misalignment’

The researchers also said the findings reveal competing incentives, with commercial payers wanting to steer patients away from high-cost hospitals but health systems hoping to maximize surgical volume at lucrative referral centers.

“Value-based or bundled payment reimbursement for surgical episodes, particularly when paired with mandatory reporting on surgical outcomes, could help to rectify this misalignment,” they said.

Out-of-pocket spending wasn’t analyzed in the study, so it’s unknown how the higher prices at NCI centers hit patients in the pocketbook.

Meanwhile, non-NCI academic hospitals also had higher insurer prices paid than community hospitals, but the differences were not statistically significant, nor were differences in the study’s utilization outcomes.

Over half the patients had breast cancer, about one-third had colon cancer, and the rest had lung tumors. Patients treated at NCI centers tended to be younger than those treated at community hospitals and more likely to be women, but comorbidity scores were similar between the groups.

NCI centers, compared with community hospitals, were larger with higher surgical volumes and in more populated areas. They also had higher rates of laparoscopic partial colectomies and pneumonectomies.

Data came from the Health Care Cost Institute’s national commercial claims data set, which includes claims from three of the country’s five largest commercial insurers: Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

The work was funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Takvorian and Dr. Keating didn’t have any disclosures. One of Dr. Takvorian’s coauthors reported grants and/or personal fees from several sources, including Pfizer, UnitedHealthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

aotto@mdedge.com

Insurance companies pay National Cancer Institute–designated cancer centers more for common cancer surgeries, but there’s no improvement in length of stay, subsequent ED use, or 90-day hospital readmission, compared with community hospitals, according to a recent report in JAMA Network Open.

“While acceptable to pay higher prices for care that is expected to be of higher quality, we found no differences in short-term postsurgical outcomes,” said authors led by Samuel Takvorian, MD, a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

The team looked at what insurance companies paid for incident breast, colon, and lung cancer surgeries, which together account for most cancer surgeries, among 66,878 patients treated from 2011 to 2014 at almost 3,000 U.S. hospitals.

Three-quarters had surgery at a community hospital, and 8.3% were treated at one of the nation’s 71 NCI centers, which are recognized by the NCI as meeting rigorous standards in cancer care. The remaining patients were treated at non-NCI academic hospitals.

The mean surgery-specific insurer prices paid at NCI centers was $18,526 versus $14,772 at community hospitals, a difference of $3,755 (P < .001) that was driven primarily by higher facility payments at NCI centers, a mean of $17,704 versus $14,120 at community hospitals.

Mean 90-day postdischarge payments were also $5,744 higher at NCI centers, $47,035 versus $41,291 at community hospitals (P = .006).

The team used postsurgical acute care utilization as a marker of quality but found no differences between the two settings. Mean length of stay was 5.1 days and the probability of ED utilization just over 13% in both, and both had a 90-day readmission rate of just over 10%.
 

Who should be treated at an NCI center?

The data didn’t allow for direct comparison of surgical quality, such as margin status, number of lymph nodes assessed, or postoperative complications, but the postsurgery utilization outcomes “suggest that quality may have been similar,” said Nancy Keating, MD, a health care policy and medicine professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, in an invited commentary.

The price differences are probably because NCI centers, with their comprehensive offerings, market share, and prestige, can negotiate higher reimbursement rates from insurers, the researchers said.

There is also evidence of better outcomes at NCI centers, particularly for more advanced and complex cases. However, “this study focused on common cancer surgical procedures ... revealing that there is a premium associated with receipt of surgical cancer care at NCI centers.” Further research “is necessary to judge whether and under what circumstances the premium price of NCI centers is justified,” the investigators said.

Dr. Keating noted that “it is likely that some patients benefit from the highly specialized care available at NCI-designated cancer centers ... but it is also likely that many other patients will do equally well regardless of where they receive their care.”

Amid ever-increasing cancer care costs and the need to strategically allocate financial resources, more research is needed to “identify subgroups of patients for whom highly specialized care is particularly necessary to achieve better outcomes. Such data could also be used by payers considering tiered networks and by physician organizations participating in risk contracts for decisions about where to refer patients with cancer for treatment,” she said.
 

Rectifying a ‘misalignment’

The researchers also said the findings reveal competing incentives, with commercial payers wanting to steer patients away from high-cost hospitals but health systems hoping to maximize surgical volume at lucrative referral centers.

“Value-based or bundled payment reimbursement for surgical episodes, particularly when paired with mandatory reporting on surgical outcomes, could help to rectify this misalignment,” they said.

Out-of-pocket spending wasn’t analyzed in the study, so it’s unknown how the higher prices at NCI centers hit patients in the pocketbook.

Meanwhile, non-NCI academic hospitals also had higher insurer prices paid than community hospitals, but the differences were not statistically significant, nor were differences in the study’s utilization outcomes.

Over half the patients had breast cancer, about one-third had colon cancer, and the rest had lung tumors. Patients treated at NCI centers tended to be younger than those treated at community hospitals and more likely to be women, but comorbidity scores were similar between the groups.

NCI centers, compared with community hospitals, were larger with higher surgical volumes and in more populated areas. They also had higher rates of laparoscopic partial colectomies and pneumonectomies.

Data came from the Health Care Cost Institute’s national commercial claims data set, which includes claims from three of the country’s five largest commercial insurers: Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

The work was funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Takvorian and Dr. Keating didn’t have any disclosures. One of Dr. Takvorian’s coauthors reported grants and/or personal fees from several sources, including Pfizer, UnitedHealthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

aotto@mdedge.com

Background: Despite advances in perioperative care, postoperative pulmonary complications represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality that are associated with increased risk of admission to critical care and prolonged length of hospital stay. There are multiple interventions that are used, despite there being no consensus guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of PPCs.

Unfortunately, only a minority of the trials reviewed were large, multi-center studies with a low risk of bias. The studies were also heterogeneous, posing a challenge for meta-analysis.

Bottom line: There is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of any intervention preventing postoperative pulmonary complications, with moderate-quality evidence supporting intraoperative lung protective ventilation and goal-directed hemodynamic strategies reducing PPCs.

Citation: Odor PM et al. Perioperative interventions for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complication: Systemic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020 Mar 11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m540.

Dr. Weaver is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at UK HealthCare, Lexington, Ky.

Background: Despite advances in perioperative care, postoperative pulmonary complications represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality that are associated with increased risk of admission to critical care and prolonged length of hospital stay. There are multiple interventions that are used, despite there being no consensus guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of PPCs.

Unfortunately, only a minority of the trials reviewed were large, multi-center studies with a low risk of bias. The studies were also heterogeneous, posing a challenge for meta-analysis.

Bottom line: There is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of any intervention preventing postoperative pulmonary complications, with moderate-quality evidence supporting intraoperative lung protective ventilation and goal-directed hemodynamic strategies reducing PPCs.

Citation: Odor PM et al. Perioperative interventions for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complication: Systemic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020 Mar 11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m540.

Dr. Weaver is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at UK HealthCare, Lexington, Ky.

Background: Despite advances in perioperative care, postoperative pulmonary complications represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality that are associated with increased risk of admission to critical care and prolonged length of hospital stay. There are multiple interventions that are used, despite there being no consensus guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of PPCs.

Unfortunately, only a minority of the trials reviewed were large, multi-center studies with a low risk of bias. The studies were also heterogeneous, posing a challenge for meta-analysis.

Bottom line: There is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of any intervention preventing postoperative pulmonary complications, with moderate-quality evidence supporting intraoperative lung protective ventilation and goal-directed hemodynamic strategies reducing PPCs.

Citation: Odor PM et al. Perioperative interventions for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complication: Systemic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020 Mar 11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m540.

Dr. Weaver is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at UK HealthCare, Lexington, Ky.

The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity developed an online guide, “Deciding on and Preparing for Major Musculoskeletal Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Other Medically Complex Conditions,” published on Dec. 20, 2020, detailing how to prepare pediatric patients with medical complexity prior to musculoskeletal surgery. The guide was developed from a dearth of information regarding optimal care practices for these patients.

The multidisciplinary committee included members from orthopedic surgery, general pediatrics, pediatric hospital medicine, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, pain medicine, physiotherapy, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and families of children with cerebral palsy. Mirna Giordano, MD, FAAP, FHM, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, New York, and International Committee member, helped develop these recommendations to “improve quality of care in the perioperative period for children with medical complexities and neurodisabilities all over the world.”

The guide meticulously details the steps required to successfully prepare for an operation and postoperative recovery. It includes an algorithm and comprehensive assessment plan that can be implemented to assess and optimize the child’s health and wellbeing prior to surgery. It encourages shared decision making and highlights the need for ongoing, open communication between providers, patients, and families to set goals and expectations, discuss potential complications, and describe outcomes and the recovery process.

The module elaborates on several key factors that must be evaluated and addressed long before surgery to ensure success. Baseline nutrition is critical and must be evaluated with body composition and anthropometric measurements. Respiratory health must be assessed with consideration of pulmonology consultation, specific testing, and ventilator or assistive-device optimization. Moreover, children with innate muscular weakness or restrictive lung disease should have baseline physiology evaluated in anticipation of potential postoperative complications, including atelectasis, hypoventilation, and pneumonia. Coexisting chronic medical conditions must also be optimized in anticipation of expected deviations from baseline.

In anticipation of peri- and postoperative care, the medical team should also be aware of details surrounding patients’ indwelling medical devices, such as cardiac implantable devices and tracheostomies. Particular attention should be paid to baclofen pumps, as malfunction or mistitration can lead to periprocedural hypotension or withdrawal.

Of paramount importance is understanding how the child appears and responds when in pain or discomfort, especially for a child with limited verbal communication. The module provides pain assessment tools, tailored to verbal and nonverbal patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The module also shares guidance on establishing communication and goals with the family and within the care team on how the child appears when in distress and how he/she/they respond to pain medications. The pain plan should encompass both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapeutics. Furthermore, as pain and discomfort may present from multiple sources, not limited to the regions involved in the procedure, understanding how the child responds to urinary retention, constipation, dyspnea, and uncomfortable positions is important to care. Postoperative immobilization must also be addressed as it may lead to pressure injury, manifesting as behavioral changes.

The module also presents laboratory testing as part of the preoperative health assessment. It details the utility or lack thereof of several common practices and provides recommendations on components that should be part of each patient’s assessment. It also contains videos showcased from the Courage Parents Network on family and provider perceptions of spinal fusion.

Family and social assessments must not be neglected prior to surgery, as these areas may also affect surgical outcomes. The module shares several screening tools that care team members can use to screen for family and social issues. Challenges to discharge planning are also discussed, including how to approach transportation, medical equipment, and school transitions needs.

The module is available for review in OPEN Pediatrics (www.openpediatrics.org), an online community for pediatric health professionals who share peer-reviewed best practices. “Our aim is to disseminate the recommendations as widely as possible to bring about the maximum good to the most,” Dr. Giordano said. The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity is planning further guides regarding perioperative care, particularly for intraoperative and postoperative considerations.

Dr. Tantoco is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and instructor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University, in Chicago. She is also a member of the SHM Pediatrics Special Interest Group Executive Committee. Dr. Bhasin is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, and assistant professor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University.

The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity developed an online guide, “Deciding on and Preparing for Major Musculoskeletal Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Other Medically Complex Conditions,” published on Dec. 20, 2020, detailing how to prepare pediatric patients with medical complexity prior to musculoskeletal surgery. The guide was developed from a dearth of information regarding optimal care practices for these patients.

The multidisciplinary committee included members from orthopedic surgery, general pediatrics, pediatric hospital medicine, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, pain medicine, physiotherapy, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and families of children with cerebral palsy. Mirna Giordano, MD, FAAP, FHM, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, New York, and International Committee member, helped develop these recommendations to “improve quality of care in the perioperative period for children with medical complexities and neurodisabilities all over the world.”

The guide meticulously details the steps required to successfully prepare for an operation and postoperative recovery. It includes an algorithm and comprehensive assessment plan that can be implemented to assess and optimize the child’s health and wellbeing prior to surgery. It encourages shared decision making and highlights the need for ongoing, open communication between providers, patients, and families to set goals and expectations, discuss potential complications, and describe outcomes and the recovery process.

The module elaborates on several key factors that must be evaluated and addressed long before surgery to ensure success. Baseline nutrition is critical and must be evaluated with body composition and anthropometric measurements. Respiratory health must be assessed with consideration of pulmonology consultation, specific testing, and ventilator or assistive-device optimization. Moreover, children with innate muscular weakness or restrictive lung disease should have baseline physiology evaluated in anticipation of potential postoperative complications, including atelectasis, hypoventilation, and pneumonia. Coexisting chronic medical conditions must also be optimized in anticipation of expected deviations from baseline.

In anticipation of peri- and postoperative care, the medical team should also be aware of details surrounding patients’ indwelling medical devices, such as cardiac implantable devices and tracheostomies. Particular attention should be paid to baclofen pumps, as malfunction or mistitration can lead to periprocedural hypotension or withdrawal.

Of paramount importance is understanding how the child appears and responds when in pain or discomfort, especially for a child with limited verbal communication. The module provides pain assessment tools, tailored to verbal and nonverbal patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The module also shares guidance on establishing communication and goals with the family and within the care team on how the child appears when in distress and how he/she/they respond to pain medications. The pain plan should encompass both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapeutics. Furthermore, as pain and discomfort may present from multiple sources, not limited to the regions involved in the procedure, understanding how the child responds to urinary retention, constipation, dyspnea, and uncomfortable positions is important to care. Postoperative immobilization must also be addressed as it may lead to pressure injury, manifesting as behavioral changes.

The module also presents laboratory testing as part of the preoperative health assessment. It details the utility or lack thereof of several common practices and provides recommendations on components that should be part of each patient’s assessment. It also contains videos showcased from the Courage Parents Network on family and provider perceptions of spinal fusion.

Family and social assessments must not be neglected prior to surgery, as these areas may also affect surgical outcomes. The module shares several screening tools that care team members can use to screen for family and social issues. Challenges to discharge planning are also discussed, including how to approach transportation, medical equipment, and school transitions needs.

The module is available for review in OPEN Pediatrics (www.openpediatrics.org), an online community for pediatric health professionals who share peer-reviewed best practices. “Our aim is to disseminate the recommendations as widely as possible to bring about the maximum good to the most,” Dr. Giordano said. The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity is planning further guides regarding perioperative care, particularly for intraoperative and postoperative considerations.

Dr. Tantoco is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and instructor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University, in Chicago. She is also a member of the SHM Pediatrics Special Interest Group Executive Committee. Dr. Bhasin is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, and assistant professor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University.

The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity developed an online guide, “Deciding on and Preparing for Major Musculoskeletal Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Other Medically Complex Conditions,” published on Dec. 20, 2020, detailing how to prepare pediatric patients with medical complexity prior to musculoskeletal surgery. The guide was developed from a dearth of information regarding optimal care practices for these patients.

The multidisciplinary committee included members from orthopedic surgery, general pediatrics, pediatric hospital medicine, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, pain medicine, physiotherapy, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and families of children with cerebral palsy. Mirna Giordano, MD, FAAP, FHM, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, New York, and International Committee member, helped develop these recommendations to “improve quality of care in the perioperative period for children with medical complexities and neurodisabilities all over the world.”

The guide meticulously details the steps required to successfully prepare for an operation and postoperative recovery. It includes an algorithm and comprehensive assessment plan that can be implemented to assess and optimize the child’s health and wellbeing prior to surgery. It encourages shared decision making and highlights the need for ongoing, open communication between providers, patients, and families to set goals and expectations, discuss potential complications, and describe outcomes and the recovery process.

The module elaborates on several key factors that must be evaluated and addressed long before surgery to ensure success. Baseline nutrition is critical and must be evaluated with body composition and anthropometric measurements. Respiratory health must be assessed with consideration of pulmonology consultation, specific testing, and ventilator or assistive-device optimization. Moreover, children with innate muscular weakness or restrictive lung disease should have baseline physiology evaluated in anticipation of potential postoperative complications, including atelectasis, hypoventilation, and pneumonia. Coexisting chronic medical conditions must also be optimized in anticipation of expected deviations from baseline.

In anticipation of peri- and postoperative care, the medical team should also be aware of details surrounding patients’ indwelling medical devices, such as cardiac implantable devices and tracheostomies. Particular attention should be paid to baclofen pumps, as malfunction or mistitration can lead to periprocedural hypotension or withdrawal.

Of paramount importance is understanding how the child appears and responds when in pain or discomfort, especially for a child with limited verbal communication. The module provides pain assessment tools, tailored to verbal and nonverbal patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The module also shares guidance on establishing communication and goals with the family and within the care team on how the child appears when in distress and how he/she/they respond to pain medications. The pain plan should encompass both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapeutics. Furthermore, as pain and discomfort may present from multiple sources, not limited to the regions involved in the procedure, understanding how the child responds to urinary retention, constipation, dyspnea, and uncomfortable positions is important to care. Postoperative immobilization must also be addressed as it may lead to pressure injury, manifesting as behavioral changes.

The module also presents laboratory testing as part of the preoperative health assessment. It details the utility or lack thereof of several common practices and provides recommendations on components that should be part of each patient’s assessment. It also contains videos showcased from the Courage Parents Network on family and provider perceptions of spinal fusion.

Family and social assessments must not be neglected prior to surgery, as these areas may also affect surgical outcomes. The module shares several screening tools that care team members can use to screen for family and social issues. Challenges to discharge planning are also discussed, including how to approach transportation, medical equipment, and school transitions needs.

The module is available for review in OPEN Pediatrics (www.openpediatrics.org), an online community for pediatric health professionals who share peer-reviewed best practices. “Our aim is to disseminate the recommendations as widely as possible to bring about the maximum good to the most,” Dr. Giordano said. The International Committee on Perioperative Care for Children with Medical Complexity is planning further guides regarding perioperative care, particularly for intraoperative and postoperative considerations.

Dr. Tantoco is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and instructor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University, in Chicago. She is also a member of the SHM Pediatrics Special Interest Group Executive Committee. Dr. Bhasin is a med-peds hospitalist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, and assistant professor of medicine (hospital medicine) and pediatrics in Northwestern University.

Background: Most patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) require anticoagulant therapy to reduce venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. Compared with injectable low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), warfarin, and newer oral agents, aspirin is easily administered, inexpensive, and well tolerated and requires no monitoring. There are observational data to support aspirin as VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR. However, high-quality randomized, clinical trials (RCT) in favor of aspirin have been limited. Recently, a large RCT (n = 3,224) that compared aspirin to rivaroxaban after THR and TKR has been published that supports aspirin use for VTE prophylaxis.

This systematic review and meta-­analysis included trials from around the world, including the most recent and largest in this area. However, because of the heterogeneity and high risk of bias encountered in most RCTs included in this analysis, additional large, well-designed RCTs are needed to validate findings of this review.

Bottom line: Findings of the current meta-analysis support the use of aspirin for VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR, in line with the 2012 recommendations of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Citation: Matharu GS et al. Clinical effectiveness and safety of aspirin for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after total hip and knee replacement. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Feb 3;180(3):376-84.

Dr. Mehta is assistant professor of medicine, section of hospital medicine, at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville.

Background: Most patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) require anticoagulant therapy to reduce venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. Compared with injectable low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), warfarin, and newer oral agents, aspirin is easily administered, inexpensive, and well tolerated and requires no monitoring. There are observational data to support aspirin as VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR. However, high-quality randomized, clinical trials (RCT) in favor of aspirin have been limited. Recently, a large RCT (n = 3,224) that compared aspirin to rivaroxaban after THR and TKR has been published that supports aspirin use for VTE prophylaxis.

This systematic review and meta-­analysis included trials from around the world, including the most recent and largest in this area. However, because of the heterogeneity and high risk of bias encountered in most RCTs included in this analysis, additional large, well-designed RCTs are needed to validate findings of this review.

Bottom line: Findings of the current meta-analysis support the use of aspirin for VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR, in line with the 2012 recommendations of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Citation: Matharu GS et al. Clinical effectiveness and safety of aspirin for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after total hip and knee replacement. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Feb 3;180(3):376-84.

Dr. Mehta is assistant professor of medicine, section of hospital medicine, at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville.

Background: Most patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) require anticoagulant therapy to reduce venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. Compared with injectable low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), warfarin, and newer oral agents, aspirin is easily administered, inexpensive, and well tolerated and requires no monitoring. There are observational data to support aspirin as VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR. However, high-quality randomized, clinical trials (RCT) in favor of aspirin have been limited. Recently, a large RCT (n = 3,224) that compared aspirin to rivaroxaban after THR and TKR has been published that supports aspirin use for VTE prophylaxis.

This systematic review and meta-­analysis included trials from around the world, including the most recent and largest in this area. However, because of the heterogeneity and high risk of bias encountered in most RCTs included in this analysis, additional large, well-designed RCTs are needed to validate findings of this review.

Bottom line: Findings of the current meta-analysis support the use of aspirin for VTE prophylaxis after THR and TKR, in line with the 2012 recommendations of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Citation: Matharu GS et al. Clinical effectiveness and safety of aspirin for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after total hip and knee replacement. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Feb 3;180(3):376-84.

Dr. Mehta is assistant professor of medicine, section of hospital medicine, at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville.

A patient’s risk for ischemic events, but not bleeding, after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be predicted simply based on whether they have one or more guideline-based standardized risk criteria, a large-scale real-world analysis suggests.

Haoyu Wang, MD, and colleagues showed that having at least one high-risk feature, as outlined in the 2018 European Society of Cardiology and European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (ESC/EACTS) Guidelines on Myocardial Revascularization, was associated with an increased risk for target vessel failure by 48% and for a patient-oriented composite outcome by 44%.

Moreover, they showed that implantation of at least three stents and the presence of diabetes and diffuse multivessel disease were the only high-risk features from the guidelines that were independent predictors of the two outcomes.

The study of more than 10,000 PCI patients also showed that determining whether patients were at high bleeding risk (HBR) did not modify their ischemic risk.

This, said Dr. Wang, from the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, underscores the importance of applying the high ischemic risk (HIR) criteria from the ESC/EACTS guidelines when tailoring dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).

The research was presented at the European Atherosclerosis Society 2021 Virtual Congress on June 2, and published online in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis.

Dr. Wang told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology that they conducted the study to determine which – HIR or HBR – is “most important to balance when treating patients undergoing PCI and then having dual antiplatelet therapy.”

The results showed that when patients have both a HIR and HBR, it is the ESC/EACTS guideline HIR criteria that have “a higher impact” than the bleeding risk, and that this can be “used to guide our choice of the duration of dual anti-platelet therapy.”

“Maybe we can extend, or use more potent, P2Y12 inhibitors” in those situations, he said.

S. Lale Tokgözoglu, MD, PhD, professor of cardiology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, who was not involved in the study, said the HIR assessment “performed well,” adding that the HBR score might have been expected to attenuate its “prognostic advantage.”

She told this news organization that the results “are interesting since previous observations have suggested that Asian patients may be more prone to medication side effects and bleeding.”

These findings emphasize the importance of assessing HIR in daily PCI practice and confirm that it “performs well in different populations in real life,” added Dr. Tokgözoglu, a former president of the EAS.

The ESC/EACTS guidelines aimed to standardize the definition of HIR, Dr. Wang said during the presentation.

They set out 10 high-risk features for ischemic events for patients undergoing revascularization, which included patient medical history, comorbid conditions, and the characteristics of the PCI procedure.

Although the goals of the criteria are to inform decision-making and stimulate research, Dr. Wang said that their “prevalence and prognostic association with clinical outcomes are yet to be established in real-world PCI practice.”

Alongside, the Predicting Bleeding Complication in Patients Undergoing Stent Implantation and Subsequent Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (PRECISE-DAPT) score was developed to predict out-of-hospital bleeding in patients receiving DAPT after stent implantation.

Although a PRECISE-DAPT score of at least 25 constitutes a patient at high bleeding risk, Dr. Wang pointed out that such patients are typically also at risk for ischemic events after PCI, and it is “unclear” whether being at HBR modifies this risk.

To investigate further, they used the prospective, real-world Fuwai PCI registry to collate an all-comer patient population with unselected use of drug-eluting stents at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases at Fuwai Hospital.

They excluded individuals who were treated with balloon angioplasty alone, bioresorbable scaffolds, or bare metal stents, leaving a total population of 10,167 patients who were treated in 2013.

In that cohort, 5,149 patients (50.6%) met at least one risk criterion from the ESC/EACTS guidelines (HIR patients) and 5,018 (49.4%) met none of the risk criteria (non-HIR patients).

The most common criteria were implantation of at least three stents (23.5%); total stent length greater than 60 mm (20.2%); diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients (18.5%); and a history of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (13.9%).

HIR patients were significantly older than non-HIR patients (average age, 58.86 vs. 57.77 years; P < .001), were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (42.6% vs. 16.9%; P < .001); and were more likely to have already had a myocardial infarction (32.2% vs. 5.2%; P < .001).

HIR patients also had higher average PRECISE-ADAPT scores than those without HIR (11.22 vs. 9.94; P < .001), and were conversely less likely to have the left anterior descending artery as the target vessel than non-HIR patients (86.0% vs. 94.6%; P < .001).

Cox regression analysis taking into account a range of patient and clinical factors revealed that HIR patients were significantly more likely than their non-HIR counterparts to experience target vessel failure (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.74; P < .001).

They were also significantly more likely to have a patient-oriented composite outcome, defined as all-cause death, any myocardial infarction, or any revascularization (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28-1.63; P < .001).

There was also a significantly higher risk for cardiac death in HIR than in non-HIR patients (HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.16-3.29; P = .012).

However, there was no significant association between HIR status and clinically relevant bleeding (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.66-1.06; P = .143).

When the researchers looked at individual ischemic risk features, they found that, on fully adjusted analyses, only two were independent predictors of target vessel failure and the patient-oriented composite outcome.

Having at least three stents implanted was significantly associated with target vessel failure (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.80; P = .038), and borderline significantly associated with the patient oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.00-1.53; P = .056).

Diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients, was significantly associated with both target vessel failure (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02-1.51; P = .035) and with the patient-oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04-1.39; P = .012).

Neither risk feature was significantly associated with clinically relevant bleeding, Dr. Wang noted.

Stratifying the patients by HBR status, the team found that rates of target vessel failure, the patient-oriented composite outcome, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and definite/probable stent thrombosis were higher in patients with both HIR and HBR than those with neither HIR nor HBR (P < .001).

Further stratifying patients by PRECISE-ADAPT scores – 10 or less indicating very low risk, 11-17 indicating low risk, 18-24 indicating moderate risk, and at least 25 indicating high risk – showed that HIR features had a consistent effect on ischemic and bleeding outcomes, regardless of bleeding risk.

No funding declared. No relevant financial relationships declared.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

A patient’s risk for ischemic events, but not bleeding, after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be predicted simply based on whether they have one or more guideline-based standardized risk criteria, a large-scale real-world analysis suggests.

Haoyu Wang, MD, and colleagues showed that having at least one high-risk feature, as outlined in the 2018 European Society of Cardiology and European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (ESC/EACTS) Guidelines on Myocardial Revascularization, was associated with an increased risk for target vessel failure by 48% and for a patient-oriented composite outcome by 44%.

Moreover, they showed that implantation of at least three stents and the presence of diabetes and diffuse multivessel disease were the only high-risk features from the guidelines that were independent predictors of the two outcomes.

The study of more than 10,000 PCI patients also showed that determining whether patients were at high bleeding risk (HBR) did not modify their ischemic risk.

This, said Dr. Wang, from the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, underscores the importance of applying the high ischemic risk (HIR) criteria from the ESC/EACTS guidelines when tailoring dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).

The research was presented at the European Atherosclerosis Society 2021 Virtual Congress on June 2, and published online in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis.

Dr. Wang told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology that they conducted the study to determine which – HIR or HBR – is “most important to balance when treating patients undergoing PCI and then having dual antiplatelet therapy.”

The results showed that when patients have both a HIR and HBR, it is the ESC/EACTS guideline HIR criteria that have “a higher impact” than the bleeding risk, and that this can be “used to guide our choice of the duration of dual anti-platelet therapy.”

“Maybe we can extend, or use more potent, P2Y12 inhibitors” in those situations, he said.

S. Lale Tokgözoglu, MD, PhD, professor of cardiology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, who was not involved in the study, said the HIR assessment “performed well,” adding that the HBR score might have been expected to attenuate its “prognostic advantage.”

She told this news organization that the results “are interesting since previous observations have suggested that Asian patients may be more prone to medication side effects and bleeding.”

These findings emphasize the importance of assessing HIR in daily PCI practice and confirm that it “performs well in different populations in real life,” added Dr. Tokgözoglu, a former president of the EAS.

The ESC/EACTS guidelines aimed to standardize the definition of HIR, Dr. Wang said during the presentation.

They set out 10 high-risk features for ischemic events for patients undergoing revascularization, which included patient medical history, comorbid conditions, and the characteristics of the PCI procedure.

Although the goals of the criteria are to inform decision-making and stimulate research, Dr. Wang said that their “prevalence and prognostic association with clinical outcomes are yet to be established in real-world PCI practice.”

Alongside, the Predicting Bleeding Complication in Patients Undergoing Stent Implantation and Subsequent Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (PRECISE-DAPT) score was developed to predict out-of-hospital bleeding in patients receiving DAPT after stent implantation.

Although a PRECISE-DAPT score of at least 25 constitutes a patient at high bleeding risk, Dr. Wang pointed out that such patients are typically also at risk for ischemic events after PCI, and it is “unclear” whether being at HBR modifies this risk.

To investigate further, they used the prospective, real-world Fuwai PCI registry to collate an all-comer patient population with unselected use of drug-eluting stents at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases at Fuwai Hospital.

They excluded individuals who were treated with balloon angioplasty alone, bioresorbable scaffolds, or bare metal stents, leaving a total population of 10,167 patients who were treated in 2013.

In that cohort, 5,149 patients (50.6%) met at least one risk criterion from the ESC/EACTS guidelines (HIR patients) and 5,018 (49.4%) met none of the risk criteria (non-HIR patients).

The most common criteria were implantation of at least three stents (23.5%); total stent length greater than 60 mm (20.2%); diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients (18.5%); and a history of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (13.9%).

HIR patients were significantly older than non-HIR patients (average age, 58.86 vs. 57.77 years; P < .001), were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (42.6% vs. 16.9%; P < .001); and were more likely to have already had a myocardial infarction (32.2% vs. 5.2%; P < .001).

HIR patients also had higher average PRECISE-ADAPT scores than those without HIR (11.22 vs. 9.94; P < .001), and were conversely less likely to have the left anterior descending artery as the target vessel than non-HIR patients (86.0% vs. 94.6%; P < .001).

Cox regression analysis taking into account a range of patient and clinical factors revealed that HIR patients were significantly more likely than their non-HIR counterparts to experience target vessel failure (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.74; P < .001).

They were also significantly more likely to have a patient-oriented composite outcome, defined as all-cause death, any myocardial infarction, or any revascularization (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28-1.63; P < .001).

There was also a significantly higher risk for cardiac death in HIR than in non-HIR patients (HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.16-3.29; P = .012).

However, there was no significant association between HIR status and clinically relevant bleeding (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.66-1.06; P = .143).

When the researchers looked at individual ischemic risk features, they found that, on fully adjusted analyses, only two were independent predictors of target vessel failure and the patient-oriented composite outcome.

Having at least three stents implanted was significantly associated with target vessel failure (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.80; P = .038), and borderline significantly associated with the patient oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.00-1.53; P = .056).

Diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients, was significantly associated with both target vessel failure (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02-1.51; P = .035) and with the patient-oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04-1.39; P = .012).

Neither risk feature was significantly associated with clinically relevant bleeding, Dr. Wang noted.

Stratifying the patients by HBR status, the team found that rates of target vessel failure, the patient-oriented composite outcome, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and definite/probable stent thrombosis were higher in patients with both HIR and HBR than those with neither HIR nor HBR (P < .001).

Further stratifying patients by PRECISE-ADAPT scores – 10 or less indicating very low risk, 11-17 indicating low risk, 18-24 indicating moderate risk, and at least 25 indicating high risk – showed that HIR features had a consistent effect on ischemic and bleeding outcomes, regardless of bleeding risk.

No funding declared. No relevant financial relationships declared.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

A patient’s risk for ischemic events, but not bleeding, after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be predicted simply based on whether they have one or more guideline-based standardized risk criteria, a large-scale real-world analysis suggests.

Haoyu Wang, MD, and colleagues showed that having at least one high-risk feature, as outlined in the 2018 European Society of Cardiology and European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (ESC/EACTS) Guidelines on Myocardial Revascularization, was associated with an increased risk for target vessel failure by 48% and for a patient-oriented composite outcome by 44%.

Moreover, they showed that implantation of at least three stents and the presence of diabetes and diffuse multivessel disease were the only high-risk features from the guidelines that were independent predictors of the two outcomes.

The study of more than 10,000 PCI patients also showed that determining whether patients were at high bleeding risk (HBR) did not modify their ischemic risk.

This, said Dr. Wang, from the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, underscores the importance of applying the high ischemic risk (HIR) criteria from the ESC/EACTS guidelines when tailoring dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).

The research was presented at the European Atherosclerosis Society 2021 Virtual Congress on June 2, and published online in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis.

Dr. Wang told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology that they conducted the study to determine which – HIR or HBR – is “most important to balance when treating patients undergoing PCI and then having dual antiplatelet therapy.”

The results showed that when patients have both a HIR and HBR, it is the ESC/EACTS guideline HIR criteria that have “a higher impact” than the bleeding risk, and that this can be “used to guide our choice of the duration of dual anti-platelet therapy.”

“Maybe we can extend, or use more potent, P2Y12 inhibitors” in those situations, he said.

S. Lale Tokgözoglu, MD, PhD, professor of cardiology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, who was not involved in the study, said the HIR assessment “performed well,” adding that the HBR score might have been expected to attenuate its “prognostic advantage.”

She told this news organization that the results “are interesting since previous observations have suggested that Asian patients may be more prone to medication side effects and bleeding.”

These findings emphasize the importance of assessing HIR in daily PCI practice and confirm that it “performs well in different populations in real life,” added Dr. Tokgözoglu, a former president of the EAS.

The ESC/EACTS guidelines aimed to standardize the definition of HIR, Dr. Wang said during the presentation.

They set out 10 high-risk features for ischemic events for patients undergoing revascularization, which included patient medical history, comorbid conditions, and the characteristics of the PCI procedure.

Although the goals of the criteria are to inform decision-making and stimulate research, Dr. Wang said that their “prevalence and prognostic association with clinical outcomes are yet to be established in real-world PCI practice.”

Alongside, the Predicting Bleeding Complication in Patients Undergoing Stent Implantation and Subsequent Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (PRECISE-DAPT) score was developed to predict out-of-hospital bleeding in patients receiving DAPT after stent implantation.

Although a PRECISE-DAPT score of at least 25 constitutes a patient at high bleeding risk, Dr. Wang pointed out that such patients are typically also at risk for ischemic events after PCI, and it is “unclear” whether being at HBR modifies this risk.

To investigate further, they used the prospective, real-world Fuwai PCI registry to collate an all-comer patient population with unselected use of drug-eluting stents at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases at Fuwai Hospital.

They excluded individuals who were treated with balloon angioplasty alone, bioresorbable scaffolds, or bare metal stents, leaving a total population of 10,167 patients who were treated in 2013.

In that cohort, 5,149 patients (50.6%) met at least one risk criterion from the ESC/EACTS guidelines (HIR patients) and 5,018 (49.4%) met none of the risk criteria (non-HIR patients).

The most common criteria were implantation of at least three stents (23.5%); total stent length greater than 60 mm (20.2%); diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients (18.5%); and a history of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (13.9%).

HIR patients were significantly older than non-HIR patients (average age, 58.86 vs. 57.77 years; P < .001), were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (42.6% vs. 16.9%; P < .001); and were more likely to have already had a myocardial infarction (32.2% vs. 5.2%; P < .001).

HIR patients also had higher average PRECISE-ADAPT scores than those without HIR (11.22 vs. 9.94; P < .001), and were conversely less likely to have the left anterior descending artery as the target vessel than non-HIR patients (86.0% vs. 94.6%; P < .001).

Cox regression analysis taking into account a range of patient and clinical factors revealed that HIR patients were significantly more likely than their non-HIR counterparts to experience target vessel failure (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.74; P < .001).

They were also significantly more likely to have a patient-oriented composite outcome, defined as all-cause death, any myocardial infarction, or any revascularization (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28-1.63; P < .001).

There was also a significantly higher risk for cardiac death in HIR than in non-HIR patients (HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.16-3.29; P = .012).

However, there was no significant association between HIR status and clinically relevant bleeding (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.66-1.06; P = .143).

When the researchers looked at individual ischemic risk features, they found that, on fully adjusted analyses, only two were independent predictors of target vessel failure and the patient-oriented composite outcome.

Having at least three stents implanted was significantly associated with target vessel failure (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.80; P = .038), and borderline significantly associated with the patient oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.00-1.53; P = .056).

Diffuse multivessel disease, especially in diabetic patients, was significantly associated with both target vessel failure (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02-1.51; P = .035) and with the patient-oriented composite outcome (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04-1.39; P = .012).

Neither risk feature was significantly associated with clinically relevant bleeding, Dr. Wang noted.

Stratifying the patients by HBR status, the team found that rates of target vessel failure, the patient-oriented composite outcome, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and definite/probable stent thrombosis were higher in patients with both HIR and HBR than those with neither HIR nor HBR (P < .001).

Further stratifying patients by PRECISE-ADAPT scores – 10 or less indicating very low risk, 11-17 indicating low risk, 18-24 indicating moderate risk, and at least 25 indicating high risk – showed that HIR features had a consistent effect on ischemic and bleeding outcomes, regardless of bleeding risk.

No funding declared. No relevant financial relationships declared.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Background: In the final year before death, surgery is common for many patients. Prior studies have shown that fewer than 38% of surgical patients receive palliative care services before death. Palliative care involvement has been shown to improve quality of life and coordination of care in surgical patients.

Dr. Halford is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Background: In the final year before death, surgery is common for many patients. Prior studies have shown that fewer than 38% of surgical patients receive palliative care services before death. Palliative care involvement has been shown to improve quality of life and coordination of care in surgical patients.

Dr. Halford is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Background: In the final year before death, surgery is common for many patients. Prior studies have shown that fewer than 38% of surgical patients receive palliative care services before death. Palliative care involvement has been shown to improve quality of life and coordination of care in surgical patients.

Dr. Halford is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.