Single-center adult cardiac surgery practice during the COVID-19 era

Objective: Like other activities, cardiac surgical practice was also affected by pandemics. During the COVID-19 outbreak, it was crucial distinguishing the preoperative data of COVID-19 positive candidates for open-heart surgery from COVID-19 negative counterparts, as well as the influence of positive viral markers on earlier postoperative results. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 177 patients who were operated in the Research Institute of Heart Surgery and Organ Transplantation from September 2020 to December 2021. Patients were categorized according to COVID-19 positive (CP) and COVID-19 negative (CN) groups. Baseline clinical, laboratory, imaging markers and perioperative findings were compared. Some of the perioperative findings were considered outcome variables. Due to unequal distributions, nonparametric tests were used for statistical analysis. Continuous variables were represented by mean and standard deviations, whereas categorical ones were by absolute count and percentage. Results: No substantial differences were detected in this small comparison study. Baseline clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic findings revealed similar conditions in both groups. Only hemoglobin levels were found higher in CP group (142.8 (18.2) vs 137.7 (19.9), p=0.03). The mostly performed operation was CABG-surgery in each group (22 vs 37 cases). There were no differences in intraoperative variables. Most of the patients of CN group presented by exacerbated heart failure signs in earlier postoperative period. Single mortality case was observed in CN group. Conclusion: In our cohort of patients, clinical, laboratory, imaging and perioperative parameters were not differed significantly in CP and CN groups altogether with some exceptions. Cardiac surgery was found as the relatively safe procedure during pandemics era. Congestive heart failure was the main event in the earlier post-op period.