Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of delirium in acute cardiac care unit after transfemoral aortic valve implantation

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background. Delirium is frequent in patients admitted to critical care units. Its incidence after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is up to 30%. Clinical and demographic factors have been related to delirium, but echocardiographic parameters have not been evaluated. Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess clinical and echocardiographic predictors of delirium in patients admitted to an acute cardiac care unit (ACCU) after transfemoral TAVI. Methods. 501 patients admitted to ACCU after TAVI were included. Delirium was evaluated by Confusion Assessment Method. Clinical cardiovascular and geriatric conditions were assessed, as well as echocardiographic parameters. Results. The incidence of delirium was 22% (110 patients). Delirium was associated with age (83.8 ± 4.6 vs 82.6 ± 6.1 years, p = 0.026), dyslipidaemia (50.0% vs 61.4%, p = 0.032), prior peripheral arterial disease (11.9% vs 5.4%, p = 0.017) and cognitive impairment (10.0% vs 1.8%, p < 0.001). There was no relationship to gender, other cardiovascular risk factors or geriatric conditions. Table shows echocardiographic parameters at baseline and after TAVI, with no statistical association with delirium. Conclusion. Delirium is a common complication after TAVI in ACCU. Age, the absence of dyslipidaemia, or the presence of cognitive impairment or prior peripheral arterial disease are clinical predictors of delirium. There are not echocardiographic predictors of delirium. Echocardiographic parametersWithout delirium(n = 391)With delirium(n = 110)p valueBaseline echocardiographic parametersLeft ventricular ejection fraction (%)57.7 ± 13.457.5 ± 14.10.912Mitral regurgitation (moderate to severe)106 (27.1)34 (30.9)0.433Pulmonary hypertension168 (43.0)53 (49.1)0.258Aortic regurgitation (moderate to severe)74 (18.9)21 (19.1)0.969Peak aortic gradient (mmHg)78.7 ± 25.278.5 ± 23.30.935Mean aortic gradient (mmHg)47.1 ± 16.146.7 ± 14.80.838Aortic valvular area (cm2)0.6 ± 0.20.6 ± 0.20.589Aortic annulus diameter (mm)22.5 ± 2.722.4 ± 2.50.615After TAVI echocardiographic parametersAortic regurgitation (moderate to severe)36 (9.3)11 (10.0)0.813Peak aortic gradient (mmHg)17.6 ± 9.617.7 ± 8.30.916Mean aortic gradient (mmHg)8.9 ± 5.49.3 ± 4.90.481Aortic valvular area (cm2)2.0 ± 0.62.2 ± 0.60.478Values are mean ± standard deviation, or n (%).

Ethical issues in cardiac arrest and acute cardiac care: a European perspective

Acute cardiac syndromes are common and responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity. Decision making in such patients can be difficult clinically but can also be complex and challenging from an ethical perspective. This chapter reviews some of the ethical problems, including organ donation and withholding/withdrawing, that can occur in the acutely ill adult cardiac patient, starting with a brief look at the ethical principles that should guide our decision making: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and distributive justice. The role of advance directives and considerations related to family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation will also be discussed. With the increasing incidence and prevalence of coronary artery disease worldwide, the number of patients with cardiac arrest and requiring acute cardiac care is going to increase, and doctors will increasingly be faced with difficult ethical decisions associated with these patients. Open discussion and debate about these issues and good communication among patients, family members, and members of the health care team are essential to ensure that all patients receive the best possible end-of-life care.

Quality of care assessment in acute cardiac care

This chapter will describe the use of performance measures and quality measures in the assessment of the quality of care delivered to patients with acute cardiovascular disease. It gives a brief recap of the major landmarks in the development of the use of performance measures, and goes on to explain the different approaches to measuring processes of care and to measuring outcomes. The utility and construction of composite measures is also described.

The ESC Textbook of Intensive and Acute Cardiovascular Care

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major cause of premature death worldwide and a cause of loss of disability-adjusted life years. For most types of CVD early diagnosis and intervention are independent drivers of patient outcome. Clinicians must be properly trained and centres appropriately equipped in order to deal with these critically ill cardiac patients. This new updated edition of the textbook continues to comprehensively approach all the different issues relating to intensive and acute cardiovascular care and addresses all those involved in intensive and acute cardiac care, not only cardiologists but also critical care specialists, emergency physicians and healthcare professionals. The chapters cover the various acute cardiovascular diseases that need high quality intensive treatment as well as organisational issues, cooperation among professionals, and interaction with other specialities in medicine.

Neurological assessment of the acute cardiac care patient

Neurological assessment of the acute cardiac patient is important since neurological complications may have important therapeutic and prognostic implications. This chapter aims to provide the basic knowledge that enables those caring for the acute cardiac patients to effectively monitor and recognize neurological problems arising in their patients.

Cardiac magnetic resonance in the intensive and cardiac care unit

Current applications of cardiac magnetic resonance offer a wide spectrum of indications in the setting of acute cardiac care. In particular, cardiac magnetic resonance is helpful for the differential diagnosis of chest pain through the detection of ischaemia, myocardial stunning, myocarditis, including chemotherapy-induced myocarditis, and pericarditis. Also, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and acute aortic diseases can be evaluated by cardiac magnetic resonance and are important differential diagnoses in patients with acute chest pain. In patients with restricted windows for echocardiography, according to guidelines, cardiac magnetic resonance is the method of choice to evaluate complications of an acute myocardial infarction. In an acute myocardial infarction, cardiac magnetic resonance allows for unique characterization of myocardial damage by quantifying necrosis, microvascular obstruction, oedema (i.e. areas at risk), and haemorrhage. These features will help us to understand better the pathophysiological events during infarction and will also allow us to assess new treatment strategies in acute myocardial infarction. To which extent the information on tissue damage will guide patient management is not yet clear, and further research is ongoing to address this issue. Recent studies also demonstrated the possibility to reduce costs in the management of acute coronary syndromes when cardiac magnetic resonance is integrated into the routine work-up. In the near future, applications of cardiac magnetic resonance will continue to expand in acute cardiac care units, as manufacturers are now strongly focusing on this aspect of user-friendliness. Finally, in the next decade or so, magnetic resonance imaging using other nuclei, such as fluorine and carbon, might become a reality in clinics, which would allow for metabolic and targeted molecular imaging with excellent sensitivity and specificity.