What are the risk factors for developing postoperative ischemic gastrointestinal complications in patients undergoing open cardiac surgery?
Patients with identified risk factors for ischemic gastrointestinal complications after open cardiac surgery require a high index of suspicion and early evaluation by an acute care surgical team.
We identified preoperative and intraoperative risk factors that independently increase the risk of developing postoperative IGIC after cardiac surgery. A high index of suspicion must be maintained and any deviation from the expected recovery course in patients with the above-identified risk factors should trigger an immediate evaluation with the involvement of the acute care surgical team.
Naar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.