Pre-Operative Pulmonary/Cardiac Criteria: Josh Adams Nathan Dewitt
Pre-Operative Pulmonary/Cardiac Criteria: Josh Adams Nathan Dewitt
Pre-Operative Pulmonary/Cardiac Criteria: Josh Adams Nathan Dewitt
Pulmonary abnormality that produces identifiable disease or dysfunction that is clinically significant and adversely affects the clinical course
Atelectasis Infection, including bronchitis and pneumonia Prolonged mechanical ventilation and respiratory failure Exacerbation of underlying chronic lung disease Bronchospasm
Vital capacity (VC) is reduced by 50 to 60 percent and may remain decreased for up to one week Functional residual capacity (FRC) is reduced by about 30 percent
Diaphragmatic dysfunction appears to play the most important role in these changes Reduction of the FRC below closing volumes contributes to the risk of atelectasis, pneumonia, and ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatching
Residual effects of anesthesia itself and postoperative opioids both depress the respiratory drive Inhibition of cough and impairment of mucociliary clearanceIncreased risk of infection
Upper abdominal and thoracic surgery lasting greater than three hours Chronic obstructive lung disease Smoking hx within past 8 weeks Use of pancuronium as a neuromuscular blocker General Anesthesia (when compared to spinal or epidural anesthesia) Emergency surgery PaCO2 > 45 mm Hg Current upper respiratory tract infection Abnormal chest x-ray Age >65 Peri-operative NG tube placement
Complete H&P is most important tool for evaluation & risk assesement
Physical examination should be directed toward evidence for obstructive lung disease Laboratory tests serve as adjuncts to the clinical evaluation and should be obtained only in selected patients
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) Arterial blood gas analysis Chest radiographs Exercise testing
Recommended Strategies
Preoperative Strategies
Smoking cessation for 8 weeks Inhaled ipratropium for all patients with clinically significant COPD Inhaled beta-agonists for patients with COPD or asthma who have wheezes or dyspnea Preoperative corticosteriods for patients with COPD or asthma who are not optimized to best baseline and whose airway obstruction has not been maximally reduced Delay elective surgery if respiratory infection present Antibiotics for patients with infected sputum
Intraoperative Strategies
Choose alternative procedure lasting less than 3 to 4 hours when possible Minimize duration of anesthesia Surgery other than upper abdominal or thoracic when possible Choose laparoscopic rather than open abdominal surgery when possible Regional anesthesia (nerve block) in very high-risk patients Epidural or spinal anesthesia in lieu of general anesthesia in high risk patients Avoid use of pancuronium as a muscle relaxant in high risk patients
Postoperative Strategies
Deep breathing exercises or incentive spirometry in high risk patients Epidural analgesia in lieu of parenteral opioids Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
Each year approximately 50,000 patients have perioperative MIs, and about 40% of them will die Most perioperative MIs occur without the typical chest pain, due to analgesics after surgery, residual effects from the anesthesia, and other perioperative painful stimuli
In studies evaluating incidence of MI after general anesthesia for patients who previously had an MI within 3 months, there was a reinfarction rate of 27-37%. Reinfarction was 11-16% for those who had an MI 3-6 months previously. Reinfarction rate remained stable at 5% for those who had an MI >6 months previous to surgery.
In 1977 Goldman and colleagues developed a preop cardiac risk index for patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. They reported nine variables associated with an increased risk for perioperative cardiac complications. Each risk factor was assigned a point score, and patients were stratified into four risk categories based on their total points.
Elevated JV pressure
MI in past 6 months
ECG: premature atrial contractions or any rhythm other than sinus ECG shows >5 premature ventricular contractions per minute Age >70 years Emergency Procedure Intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal or aortic surgery Poor general status, metabolic or bedridden
11 11 10 7 7 5 4 3 3
Patients with scores >25 had a 56% incidence of death, with a 22% incidence of severe cardiovascular complications Patients with scores <26 had a 4% incidence of death, with a 17% incidence of severe cardiovascular complications. Patients with scores <6 had a 0.2% incidence of death, with a 0.7% incidence of severe cardiovascular complications.
In 1986 Detsky and colleagues modified the original multifactorial index by adding variables such as angina and pulmonary edema. Patients are stratified into three risk categories based on their total points
5
10 5 10 20 10 10 5
20
5 5 10 5
Class I II III
ACP guidelines