About this Research Topic

Background

Owing to the pioneering discoveries and innovations within the cardiovascular field over the previous decades, cardiac surgery has significantly evolved, and reflects notable accomplishments within the medical field.
Given that cardiac surgery is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates, much effort has been made over the years, to improve peri-operative outcomes; this requires a multidisciplinary approach involving cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, and anesthesiologists. Advances in cerebral protection, extracorporeal circulation, and anesthesiological management, have all led to better peri-operative care, though further research is essential to ensure better outcomes in this patient group.

The growing interest in this field has allowed for several approaches and protocols being proposed in aim to enhance peri-operative outcomes. For example, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) include indications for improved pre-, intra-, and post-operative outcomes, across various surgical specialties. ERAS represent one of the most important advancements in peri-operative care within cardiac surgery, and patients undergoing minimally invasive cardiac surgery should represent the ideal cohort of patients for this.
Additionally, as findings have revealed, prolonged ventilation time and ICU length-of-stay are all well-known risk factors for: respiratory morbidity, extended use of sedative drugs, delayed rehabilitation therapy, and increased hospital costs. A ‘Fast-track’ protocol with early rehabilitation therapy has been recently introduced, that may soon be conventional practice for certain patients.

Although better defining peri-operative interventions in cardiac surgery have gained considerable attention and literature, several areas are yet to be covered, necessitating the need for further research on:
• Pre-operative optimization (analgesia, medications, multiorgan function, functional status, nutrition);
• Blood management;
• Pre-operative screening;
• ERAS and anesthetic choices;
• Minimally invasive approaches to reduce surgical trauma;
• CPB management;
• Renal function preservation;
• Point of Care devices and approaches.

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine have organized a Research Topic on Peri-operative Care in Cardiac Surgery. Led by a team of experts, this Research Topic will accept manuscripts within this area of research, with the aim of providing the reader with a comprehensive overview on the latest discoveries and findings, analysis of previously published data, and new opinions and perspectives, on peri-operative management of patients’ undergoing cardiac surgery. We welcome the submissions of Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Methods, and Case Reports.

Keywords: heart surgery, perioperative care, cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac surgery

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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