Cardiac Surgery remains amongst the most intensive and at-risk surgical procedures. Various factors, such as surgical trauma, and the extracorporeal circulation, induce complex systemic inflammatory responses as well as organ-specific perioperative morbidity and mortality. Despite advancements in surgical techniques and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) technologies over the previous decades, Cardiac Surgery continues to be associated with these significantly fatal complications. For example, analysis of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database of > 600,000 isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) procedures identified major postoperative complications including stroke, renal failure, re-operations, and prolonged ventilation in 10.3% patients undergoing this procedure, with a failure to rescue rate in 16-22% of cases.
This data is exacerbated in other complex procedures such as valve repair, and is expected to be further affected by the aging population in the near future. The major knowledge gaps in the prevention, monitoring, and recovery of these at-risk patients necessitate the need for further research and innovation within these areas.
Various theories regarding the causes of these complications have emerged. The most common of these, identify inflammation, oxidative stress and ischaemia-reperfusion injury as the fundamental mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of adverse events. The contribution of the inflammatory response to post-operative outcomes is increasingly being recognised as an arena for further research.
Remarkably, tremendous progress has been made in this field; from understanding molecular mechanisms to effective interventions in the laboratory and pre-clinical conditions. However, limited data exists on the translation of these insights into everyday clinical practice.
As this field constitutes a major interface of clinical and basic scientific research, we believe a more collaborative approach from translational, basic, and clinical scientists is required at a global scale, to better recognise patient heterogeneity on a molecular level to enable personalised patient management and the application of novel therapeutic approaches.
In this article collection, we aim to provide a broad overview of the current and emerging research on the role of inflammation in Cardiac Surgery as well as the definition of best practices in this field. Led by a team of experts in this field, this article collection will accept original research articles, systematic reviews, and narrative reviews.
Cardiac Surgery remains amongst the most intensive and at-risk surgical procedures. Various factors, such as surgical trauma, and the extracorporeal circulation, induce complex systemic inflammatory responses as well as organ-specific perioperative morbidity and mortality. Despite advancements in surgical techniques and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) technologies over the previous decades, Cardiac Surgery continues to be associated with these significantly fatal complications. For example, analysis of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database of > 600,000 isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) procedures identified major postoperative complications including stroke, renal failure, re-operations, and prolonged ventilation in 10.3% patients undergoing this procedure, with a failure to rescue rate in 16-22% of cases.
This data is exacerbated in other complex procedures such as valve repair, and is expected to be further affected by the aging population in the near future. The major knowledge gaps in the prevention, monitoring, and recovery of these at-risk patients necessitate the need for further research and innovation within these areas.
Various theories regarding the causes of these complications have emerged. The most common of these, identify inflammation, oxidative stress and ischaemia-reperfusion injury as the fundamental mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of adverse events. The contribution of the inflammatory response to post-operative outcomes is increasingly being recognised as an arena for further research.
Remarkably, tremendous progress has been made in this field; from understanding molecular mechanisms to effective interventions in the laboratory and pre-clinical conditions. However, limited data exists on the translation of these insights into everyday clinical practice.
As this field constitutes a major interface of clinical and basic scientific research, we believe a more collaborative approach from translational, basic, and clinical scientists is required at a global scale, to better recognise patient heterogeneity on a molecular level to enable personalised patient management and the application of novel therapeutic approaches.
In this article collection, we aim to provide a broad overview of the current and emerging research on the role of inflammation in Cardiac Surgery as well as the definition of best practices in this field. Led by a team of experts in this field, this article collection will accept original research articles, systematic reviews, and narrative reviews.