Post Cardiac Surgery

SickKids and UHN have developed MedlyPeds which is a smart phone application designed to remotely monitor patients with heart disease. This is a feasibility study which will enroll up to 30 patients with different types of heart disease to see which patient types may benefit the most from MedlyPeds if it were to be used for clinical monitoring. The study is gathering feedback about the app from patients, parents and clinicians to confirm how it needs to be modified to better serve the purpose in a future trial.

Post-operative atrial fibrillation is a common problem post cardiac surgery with rates exceeding 30%. Atrial fibrillation has multiple adverse effects on cardiac hemodynamics and can lead to hypotension, diminished end organ perfusion and lengthen the stay in ICU. Amiodarone is the medication of choice used for pharmacological cardioversion and can be used with vasoactive medications. Intravenous amiodarone is associated with hypotension and end organ perfusion requiring escalation in vasoactive support. Vernakalant is novel anti-arrhythmic agent approved in Canada for cardioversion of atrial fibrillation that primarily works on atrial channels and has no effect on contractility or vasodilation. Clinical trials have proved good efficacy of Vernakalant in conversion of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation however there is no comparison of Amiodarone to Vernakalant in post-operative cardiac surgery. We plan to perform a clinical trial comparing Vernakalant to amiodarone in post-cardiac surgery patients with a primary outcome of cardioversion at 90 minutes. Secondary outcomes will follow duration of vasoactive medications, days in ICU and economics.

This study will be conducted to investigate the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on phrenic regeneration post cardiac surgery

Double blind, double dummy trial of the use of IV acetaminophen versus oral acetaminophen for the prevention of delirium after cardiac surgery. The underlying hypothesis is that better pain control and less use of narcotics will lead to a lower incidence of delirium from day 1 to 7 following cardiac surgery. Other important secondary outcomes are the total use of narcotics, ICU and hospital stay, improved cognitive function at 6 months and 1 year post surgery, NSAID use at each centre and associated NSAID complications.

To determine the combined effects of 4-7-8 breathing technique and stationary cycle on physical performance, quality of life and dyspnea in post CABG patients.

The use of antibiotic therapy is common in intensive care units and primarily involves beta-lactams. Its optimal implementation is made difficult by the pharmacokinetic changes inherent in critically ill patients. Despite the current recommendations from the French Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (SFAR) and the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT), there are no recommendations on prescription modalities for patients under veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). The use of antibiotic therapy is common in VA-ECMO patients and their pharmacokinetic variability factors are then exacerbated. We aim to conduct a prospective, multicenter, interventional study designed to identify predictive factors for failure to achieve therapeutic target circulating concentrations of beta-lactams in patients under VA-ECMO treated with one of the studied beta-lactams

Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) may provide pulmonary and circulatory support for patients with acute heart failure refractory to conventional medical therapy. However, indications and effectiveness of ECLS engagement post-surgery remains a concern. The investigators sought to analyze indications, modality and outcomes of PS-ECLS, to identify predictors of early and midterm survival after PS-ECLS. The investigators have recorded prospectively, and analysed data of 209 consecutive PS-ECLS patients between January 2004 and December 2018. Demographic and clinical data before, during and after PS-ECLS were collected and their influence on hospital mortality and outcomes (early and midterm) will analyse. Multivariate analysis of pre PS-ECLS implantation factors (as age, female sex , insulin-dependent diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, STS, type of surgical procedure data, pre-ECLS blood lactate level) will be made for identify prognostic risk factors of in-hospital mortality. Overall survival will be analysed, at 6 months,1-year and 5-years, respectively and the factors influencing mild/term outcome will be investigated.