Left ventricular dysfunction following cardiac surgery remains a significant perioperative challenge, one often treated with inotropic support, however practice patterns vary widely and there are few outcome data to support a standardized practice. Levosimendan represents a newer class of “inodilators”, calcium sensitizers, thought to improve cardiac output without increasing myocardial oxygen consumption. […]
Category: Cardiac surgery
Statin does not protect against acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery
Although statins affect mechanisms that lead to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI), observational studies have failed to demonstrate a consistent effect of statin therapy on the risk of AKI after cardiac surgery. The Statin AKI Cardiac Surgery randomized control trial sought to determine if high-dose, short-term atorvastatin reduced the risk of AKI following cardiac surgery. […]