Clinical trial NCT00432536: Redesigning Cardiac Surgery to Reduce Neurologic Injury
Official title: Redesigning Cardiac Surgery to Reduce Neurologic Injury
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Cardiovascular Disease
Surgery
Keywords: Neuro-monitoring
Quality Improvement
Cerebral emboli
Cerebral desaturation
Hypotension
Lead sponsor: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: MaineHealth
name: Catholic Medical Center
name: Somanetics Corporation
name: LivaNova
name: Maquet Cardiovascular
name: Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group
name: Luna Innovations
name: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
First posted: 2007-02-08
Enrollment: 469
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 40
Maximum age (years): 89
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Brief summary: Neurologic injuries are frequent and devastating complications following cardiac surgery. Previous work conducted by our research group and others has identified the principal mechanisms creating both overt and subtle neurologic injuries after cardiac surgery. Current work by our group has identified that the causes (thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli) of these injuries are byproducts of processes of surgical and perfusion care. This insight suggests that the redesign of clinical strategies and techniques to prevent the occurrence of these intraoperative sources of damage may provide an opportunity to reduce the risk of neurologic injury after cardiac surgery.

The goal of this research is to identify modifiable clinical strategies and techniques of surgical and perfusion care associated with the causes (thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli) of neurologic injury secondary to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and subsequently to redesign these processes to reduce a patient's risk of a neurologic injury.

Detailed description: The goal of this research is to identify modifiable clinical strategies and techniques of surgical and perfusion care associated with the causes (thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli) of neurologic injury secondary to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and subsequently to redesign these processes to reduce a patient's risk of a neurologic injury. The following hypotheses will be addressed.

Hypothesis #1a. Identifying alternative strategies for conducting processes of surgical and perfusion care will reveal opportunities to reduce the occurrence of causes of neurologic injury. The most common mechanisms creating neurologic injury, whether focal or global, after CABG surgery are thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli. Processes of surgical and perfusion care are associated with the creation of each of these causes of neurologic injury.

Hypothesis #1b. Redesigning processes of surgical and perfusion care to reduce thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli during CABG surgery will result in reductions of tissue-level and neurologic injury. We will analyze sera for tissue-level brain injury as well as identify any new neurologic injuries present among patients undergoing CABG surgery. Redesigning CABG surgery to reduce thrombotic/lipid emboli, cerebral hypoperfusion \& hypotension, and gaseous emboli will result in decreases in tissue-level and neurologic injury.

Hypothesis #2. A regional quality improvement intervention will result in changes to surgical and perfusion techniques. Regional dissemination of the findings from Hypotheses #1a,b may be realized through focused quality improvement initiatives utilizing multidisciplinary clinical teams.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients aged 40-89 years undergoing nonemergency coronary revascularization or valve procedures with or without the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Undergoing concomitant procedures besides cardiac surgery

Primary outcomes:
measure: Emboli and Hypoperfusion Counts
timeFrame: within the operative time period
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Type I and II neurologic injuries
timeFrame: within 3 months after surgery
measure: Tissue-level neurologic injury
timeFrame: within 48 hrs of surgery
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Portland
country: United States
facility: Maine Medical Center
state: Maine
city: Lebanon
country: United States
facility: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
state: New Hampshire
city: Manchester
country: United States
facility: Catholic Medical Center
state: New Hampshire
Study officials:
affiliation: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
name: Donald S Likosky, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
name: David J. Malenka, MD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
citation: Likosky DS, Donegan DJ, Groom RC, Buchanan SA, Morton JR, Ross CS, O'Connor GT. Embolic activity subsequent to injection of the internal mammary artery with papaverine hydrochloride. Heart Surg Forum. 2005;8(6):E434-6. doi: 10.1532/HSF98.20051012.
citation: Likosky DS, Groom RC, Clark C, Forest RJ, Kramer RS, Morton JR, Ross CS, Sabadosa KA, O'Connor GT; Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group, Lebanon, New Hampshire. A method for identifying mechanisms of neurologic injury from cardiac surgery. Heart Surg Forum. 2004;7(6):348-52. doi: 10.1532/HSF98.20041088.
citation: Groom R, Likosky DS, Rutberg H. Understanding variation in cardiopulmonary bypass: Statistical Process Control Theory. J Extra Corpor Technol. 2004 Sep;36(3):224-30. No abstract available.
citation: Groom RC, Likosky DS, Forest RJ, O'Connor GT, Morton JR, Ross CS, Clark C, Kramer R. A model for cardiopulmonary bypass redesign. Perfusion. 2004 Jul;19(4):257-61. doi: 10.1191/0269216304pf749oa.
citation: Groom RC, Quinn RD, Lennon P, Welch J, Kramer RS, Ross CS, Beaulieu PA, Brown JR, Malenka DJ, O'Connor GT, Likosky DS; Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group. Microemboli from cardiopulmonary bypass are associated with a serum marker of brain injury. J Extra Corpor Technol. 2010 Mar;42(1):40-4.
citation: Groom RC, Quinn RD, Lennon P, Donegan DJ, Braxton JH, Kramer RS, Weldner PW, Russo L, Blank SD, Christie AA, Taenzer AH, Forest RJ, Clark C, Welch J, Ross CS, O'Connor GT, Likosky DS; Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group. Detection and elimination of microemboli related to cardiopulmonary bypass. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2009 May;2(3):191-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.803163. Epub 2009 May 5.