Vasoactive Inotropic Score in Adult Cardiac Surgery Outcomes

Overview

This study looked at whether a bedside score called the Vasoactive Inotropic Score (VIS) could help doctors predict which adult patients are at higher risk of complications after heart surgery that uses a heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass). VIS is calculated from the doses of heart-support medications a patient is already receiving after surgery, so it does not require any extra tests or procedures. Researchers measured VIS at five points in the first two days after surgery in 232 adults undergoing a range of heart operations, including valve surgery and coronary artery bypass. The study found that VIS measured soon after surgery, and again at 24 hours, gave useful early warning of which patients were more likely to experience serious complications such as kidney injury, stroke, or the need for additional circulatory support. This information could help hospital teams identify at-risk patients earlier and monitor them more closely.

Serial Vasoactive Inotropic Score (VIS) was recorded prospectively at 5 postoperative timepoints (on shifting to the cardiac recovery unit, and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours) in 232 adults undergoing elective or semi-elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at a single tertiary centre. The primary outcome was a composite of death, cardiac arrest, mechanical circulatory support, acute kidney injury (RIFLE criteria), or central nervous system injury. Secondary outcomes were ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay, and time to first extubation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, multivariate logistic regression, and Spearman rank correlation were used to evaluate the predictive performance of VIS at each timepoint, both independently and adjusted for EuroSCORE II, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, age, and pre-operative ejection fraction. A pre-specified sensitivity analysis incorporating low cardiac output syndrome into the primary composite outcome was also performed. This study is the first to evaluate serial (multi-timepoint) VIS measurement, rather than a single measurement, as a predictor of postoperative outcome in a heterogeneous adult cardiac surgical population.

Conditions