February 14, 2008European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery126 citations
View Full PaperRelation between aortic cross-clamp time and mortality — not as straightforward as expected☆
Structured PICO
Does aortic cross-clamp time predict mortality in patients with preserved versus low ejection fraction?
P
Population
Patients undergoing cardiac surgery requiring aortic cross-clamping, including those with preserved preoperative contractile function and those with low ejection fraction
I
Intervention
Aortic cross-clamp (XCL) time
O
Outcome
Mortalityhard clinical
Aortic cross-clamp time is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with preserved ejection fraction, but this relationship is masked in patients with low ejection fraction due to high mortality even with short clamp times.
Abstract
Despite modern techniques of cardio protection, XCL time remains an independent predictor of mortality in patients with preserved preoperative contractile function. The unexpected lack of risk prediction by aortic cross-clamp time in patients with low ejection fraction appear to be due to a high mortality rate when XCL times were short.